Tortured Memories
by dan.alexander
Summary: After a fortress is built in the Land of Wind, Naruto, weakened from an unknown condition, joins a group of Konoha shinobi to investigate. NOTE: Will eventually become a crossover.
1. Mission Part 1

Author's Note:

Italics refer to someone's internal thoughts, while words or phrases outlined with apostrophes, such as 'this', simply mean emphasis.

On the outside, the village seems like it always does; peaceful and quiet. Granted, the giant walls surrounding this isolated society prevent anyone outside of the village to see any activity happening within its borders, but the general feeling that one got when approaching the village, in spite of the appearance of the barrier, was peace of mind, as the four giant gates on all sides seemed almost inviting. Konohagakure no Sato, within all five of the great shinobi nations, was among the most stable, peaceful kakurezato; little internal strife, a startling low criminal and homicide rate, and a stable, strong leadership under the Hokage, Tsunade.

Today, in spite of her strong will and similarly strong voice, Tsunade was, for the time being, uncharacteristically silent. She gave little emotion, and what emotion people detected from her had a hint of depression. She had right to be; after everything that had happened over the years. Konohagakure was silent, but peaceful was not the word to describe it; subdued would be better. This village, along with the help of other kakurezato, had slowly reduced the Akatsuki's numbers, but the groups influence and power has grown exponentially in spite of it, and, to Konohagakure, this simple fact proved tragic. Sarutobi Asuma, the son of the Third Hokage, died at the hands of Hidan, the immortal Evil-God cleric. While Asuma was avenged, and other members of Akatsuki were eliminated, Pain, murderer of the legendary Sannin Jiraiya, copy-cat ninja Hatake Kakashi, and many other high-level shinobi, was still at large as one of the two heads of Akatsuki. And who knew his true power of this Pein, or the other presumably lead Akatsuki, Uchiha Madara, or, hell, any of the other remaining members of Akatsuki. This weighed heavily on the Hokage, as the deaths bore down on the emotions of most of the village.

But one person refused to accept defeat. He had to lift the spirits of the village, even if it cost him his life or, worse, a day of reprimanding by his sensei.

"Get back here, you brat!" The voice echoed through the street, which was lined with businesses and flooded with people. Business owners, aggressive merchants, stubborn customers bent on getting a bargain, and passerby all turned to what has become an all too familiar of a sight; a short, skinny 13-year-old kid with spiky brown hair and a forehead accessorized by a green pair of goggles, running as fast as he can with a wide grin on his face. Unlike most shinobi, he wore his hitai-ite around his right arm, just below the shoulder. "Konohamaru!" Konohamaru felt the gazes that were weighing down on him lift as everyone turned to the source of the voice. Everyone knew that voice; it was the old geezer that ran the old weapons shop down the road; however, what they saw, instead, was a clown, a clown whose ferocity was nearly masked by the perfectly done red and white makeup and big bulbous nose. But that hair, that voice. He didn't, they thought seriously, but the more they looked, the more they realized. And the louder the laughter became.

"That's what you get for sleeping on the job!" Konohamaru yelled as he ran off. _I am legendary._ His face burned in pain caused by his disastrous attempt at subduing his comically wide grin. These turn of events reminded him of only one person. _Naruto-sensei, I'll be even better than you'll ever be._ But the thought, which typically inspires him to become even more mischievous, in the circumstance that such a thing was even possible, today it dampened that oh-so-exuberant feeling. His smile faded somewhat. _I wish you were here; you could see me in all my majesty._ While he did want to see the look on Uzumaki Naruto's face when Konohamaru finally tops the master prankster, he also just wanted Naruto's presence. The blonde, spiky haired teenager, dubbed Konoha's "Number-One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja" by his peers, was Konohamaru's role model and, in the world of pranks, his teacher and guide. But Naruto has been away from this village on missions at an unusually high rate, and his so-called student had no clue where he was at.

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Elsewhere, somewhere in the rice fields that were formerly the Land of Sound, a young ninja was in deep meditation. He loathed the thought of doing such a hideous act, being so still when so much always needs to be done, lives to be saved, threats to be averted. But when he got down and did it, he always calmed down, his thoughts came to order (relatively speaking), and his spirits lifted. And being right next to one of the many rice fields intensified the calm, as the rustling of the wind through the fields seemed to drown out any straying thoughts that occurred through the shinobi's mind. The only place better would be inside one of the fields, but then he'd get yelled at. Not to mention that he'd be soaked from the pool of water needed to sustain the plants.

Uzumaki Naruto's destination was Sunagakure, in the Land of Wind to the southwest. However, given that the mission allowed him a weeks journey, over three times the amount of time needed to transverse the distance, he took a detour to the north, thinking that having a clear mind would help on this duties. Not that it mattered; this was a D-rank mission that he took only because it gave him an excuse to come to his personal meditation spot. The only reason he was even given the opportunity was because the Jonin and Chuunin were busily preparing the village for the next Chuunin exam, which is to occur in a fortnight, and most of the Genin were, as a result, given a break from the action. He figured that picking up supplies and decorations for the exams would be a healthy break from his training, a fact he only accepted due to his recent, inexplicable fatigue. _It had to be all that training,_ Naruto thought, _but I've done worse and recovered way quicker than this. Guess that damn fox is too lazy to help me out. Either that or he needed a vacation too. _ It only took a second when Naruto came up with a conclusion, one that put a small grin on his face. _Yeah, right._

Naruto knew that the Kyuubi's chakra still permeated his body. He tripped over a small pebble a few hours ago in his pursuit of the perfect mediation spot, scraping his hands and knees to the point where blood was dripping constantly out of them; now, the only evidence of his fall were the holes in the knees of his black pants. No scars, no scabs, not even a bruise. So why the hell was he so tired? _Yeah, it had to be the training._ Satisfied, he headed back South, aiming to be back in the Land of Fire's borders by night fall. He only had a few hours, but his fatigue didn't stop him from running down the path, jumping into the tree line the moment he distanced himself from the rice field and entered the surrounding forest. Although he attempted diligently to focus, his mind once again wandered and thoughts flowed through his mind; thoughts of Uchiha Sasuke, the friend that betrayed the village, his deceased mentors, Kakashi and Jiraiya, and of Konohagakure itself.

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"Hey, kid." Konohamaru heard from behind him. He successfully managed to avoid detection by most of the townspeople, but one person managed to find him. Not only that, to Konohamaru's chagrin, this person was able to avoid detection, even in the middle of the street. Worse of all, this person didn't even know the legend he was speaking to.

"The name's not kid," Konohamaru yelled as he whipped around to face his enemy. "The name's Konohamaru."

"No reason to yell," said the other ninja, pacing leisurely towards the young Konohamaru. This ninja was taller, a chuunin by the looks of it. Although most of his details were invisible in the night, what stood out was his hair; it, to Konohamaru's slight amusement, resembled a spiky tropical fruit.

"Sorry, pineapple-san," Konohamaru sneered.

"So troublesome," was the reply. Although it was too dark to see, Konohamaru knew that the person who now stood mere feet from him was glaring at him. "You know, I don't appreciate being called a fruit."

"Sorry, Nara-sensei." Konohamaru, defeated, looked at the floor. Nara Shikamaru sighed, then, smiling lightly, kneeled down so that his eyes once again met Konohamaru's.

"Nah, I should be the one apologizing. And I don't deserve the title of 'sensei.'"

"But sensei, you've been leading us on all sorts of missions and stuff while Ebisu-san is away doing other stuff."

"Kid, I can only imagine how 'Ebisu-san' would react if you gave me a higher honorific than him."

"I don't care. He's a pervert anyway!" Konohamaru's grin returned in spades, fading only slightly when he saw Shikamaru slowly turn around and walk away. Konohamaru stood in place for a second, then, an idea springing into his head, he sprinted down a nearby alleyway and disappeared out of sight. Now Shikamaru was alone. Not that it mattered to the shadow user anyway.

_I meant to ask him why he's trying to pull a Naruto at a time like this._ 'Pulling a Naruto' was the term many of the villagers had used to describe Konohamaru's recent prank-prone habits. It was meant to be derogatory, as most of the villagers hated Naruto, but Konohamaru took the term with pride; it was proof that Konohamaru was living up to Naruto's greatness. Shikamaru sighed. But he's probably the only person in this entire village who isn't depressed. _ It is so troublesome to walk through this city with everyone walking on eggshells. Perhaps these people do need to lighten up._

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_Next day, elsewhere in the Land of Fire_

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto, in his experience as a genin, knew that packing well was key to survival. He also knew that it was a must to build the perfect fire; a fire just warm enough to cook a bowl of instant ramen without melting its plastic container. Grinning evilly at the steaming bowl in front of him, he knew that no bowl of ramen on this planet stood a chance against him. He had a clump of noodles in the pair of chopsticks he held expertly in his hand when...

"What the...?" He kicked dirt into the fire, extinguishing the flames immediately, grabbed his backpack and his ramen bowl, and hid behind a nearby tree. There, he waited anxiously, eyeing the gap in the trees where he thought he heard something move and, at the same time, still diligently slurping noodles with the aid of his chopsticks. It didn't take long before the culprit showed up.

"Idiot."

Hearing the voice right behind him, Naruto lept into the air, aiming for the canopy of the tree above him. He landed on a branch, but his balance was off, and he flipped over. He managed to focus his chakra on his feet and hand upside down, but the damage was done. What was left of his ramen bowl was now spilled on the forest floor. "You'll pay for that!"

"There is a possibility of rogue shinobi in the area. It is advised to hold your current position until the investigation is complete," the culprit announced flatly. Then a hint of sharpness and sarcasm entered the ANBU's voice. "Although if your idea of stealth is anywhere near what I have just seen, you'll probably just get killed anyway." He wore a completely black jumpsuit, accessorized gray armor that strapped over his shoulders and wrapped around his abdomen. His hair was long and unkempt, and his face was covered by a mask resembling a bird.

ANBU, Naruto thought quietly as the masked shinobi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Although he trusted most of ANBU, with the exception of the Root division and its leader, Danzo, he doubted what he was told. While "staying still" would have been perfectly logical for most genin, Naruto was not like most genin. Even with his latest ailment, his skills surpassed most genin. Then again, it didn't hurt being among the oldest, most experienced genin in the village; everyone else had ascended to chuunin status. Besides, if he waited around too long, the people at his destination would get ticked off. As strong as he was, he did not want to tick anyone off. Especially people in control of puppets, giant metal fans, or the sands themselves. Besides, he was too exhausted to deal with any repercussions of his tardiness. His mind made up, he checked his surroundings, concluding that the ANBU had left the area completely, further justifying his doubts, and swung himself from his still upside-down position and leaped away towards his destination. At this rate, he should make Sunagakure by nightfall.

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"Yay!" Konohamaru exclaimed. He, along with his two teammates, Moegi and Udon, were standing in front of the Hokage's desk, and he no longer sported his green goggles. They had reason to be excited; not only was it their first "B" rank mission, but they were also heading in the direction of the Land of Wind. That meant that they were bound to come across Naruto, and Konohamaru could tell Naruto of all his nefarious deeds.

"So, correct me if I'm mistaken," Shikamaru, leaning against the doorway of the Hokage's office. "There is a new structure that was recently built within the borders of the Land of Wind, without the consent of that country's Feudal government. Since that government doesn't want to tarnish the reputation of the villages within its borders, they decided to let us do the dirty work. Sounds simple enough."

"That is correct," Tsunade answered, leaning forward on her desk, her arms crossed in front of her on top of a bunch of papers. "Dismissed."

The three genin made no effort to hide their ecstasy as they sprinted out the door of the office, forcing Shikamaru to shift his weight to avoid getting ran over. Once the yells and cheers died, away, Shikamaru turned to Tsunade. He didn't have to grab her attention; he knew that she was expecting him to say something, as they knew each other too much to believe otherwise.

"What you explained to these kids was nothing more than a C-rank mission," Shikamaru explained. "Given the lack of ANBU presence in the village since the time this building was first spotted, I will assume that they are also investigating, so we may come across a few of them as we approach the village. If this is true, and you still feel the need to investigate, that would only mean that the ANBU are hiding details from you and are acting out of their own accord. Lastly, since you are only deploying this as a B-Rank mission, in spite of this, our true objective is to simply conclude whether or not a more thorough, risky investigation is necessary."

"Very good, Shikamaru," Tsunade replied, smiling at the prodigy. "However..." This caused Shikamaru body to tense up slightly. He didn't remember the last time he heard any of his predictions countered.

"ANBU is acting out of its own accord, but not entirely in secret. While I did not give the authority to initialize this investigation, neither did I veto the request; as a result, due to ANBU's limited autonomy, what they are doing is legal. Also, the groups investigating are updating me with information, and..." Tsunade went silent, unfolding her arms and leaning back on her chair.

"The information you've received troubles you," Shikamaru predicted.

"Not so much the nature of the information," Tsunade replied, grimly, "but the sheer lack of it." Shikamaru's eyes widen slightly.

"You mean to tell me that, after several months of investigation, ANBU still doesn't know what the hell is going on?"

"More or less," Tsunade's face brightened slightly, and she stood up.

_Most days I can read this woman like a book,_ Shikamaru thought, _but today it's like trying to predict a five-year-old with schizophrenia and multiple-personality disorder._

"And that's were you come in," Tsunade continued. "I specifically timed this mission so that you will meet up with Naruto Uzumaki on his way to the Sand Village. You will tell him to abandon his current mission, as the current mission has far higher priority. The five of you will head to the designated location, where you will devise a method to penetrate the outer walls of the building and find as much information as possible. That is all." Tsunade had purposely left out a small bit of information, and was not disappointed when Shikamaru gave a sly smile.

"Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru stated, "what you are leaving out is that ANBU could have penetrated the outer walls, but are wary of doing so. So you need some way to penetrate the walls without putting lives at risk. You figured that the best way to do this is to take advantage of Naruto's and Konohamaru's kage bunshins, and you also figured that I would be the best way to devise a plan and improvise, since Konohamaru can only do about four or five clones before tiring, an impressive feat in and off itself, and Naruto isn't up to his usual self." Tsunade was slightly surprised by this last remark.

"Oh?"

"If you'd let me explain, Naruto's stamina, likely due to his recent training, has left him drained, and his rate of recovery is sluggish, even for 'normal' shinobi. You were not aware of that, Tsunade?"

"I was," the Hokage said, leaning onto her feet and stood, breaking herself from Shikamaru by gazing out the large window behind her. "His recovery has been a bit slow for his own standards, but he should be fine by the time you reach him."

"No," Shikamaru replied. The sharpness of his tone, uncustomary to a Nara, caused the Hokage to pivot around and face the usually relaxed shinobi. "When someone exhausts themselves to the point that Naruto does, their initial recovery is typically slow, but as they rest, the rate of stamina recovery typically accelerates. Naruto, due to his unusual chakra, goes through the process faster but still follows the same pattern. Or at least, he should.

"However, I've been watching Naruto train before he went on this mission, and his recovery over the last two weeks have slowed significantly, maybe even plateaued" Tsunade eyed him carefully, bracing for whatever the Nara was about to say.

"Not only may Naruto recover back to his full strength by the time we meet," Shikamaru concluded, his voice returning to its flat, unemotional state, "but his chakra may never fully recover again."

Tsunade knew what the young man was talking about, but that still didn't stop her somewhat frightened appearance. In her days as a medic-nin, she saw a small number of patients that have suffered Chakra Saturation Fatigue, a very rare condition typicaly afflicting shinobi with exceptional amounts of chakra or, more commonly, shinobi that artificially increase their chakra reserves. According to medical logs, when a person's chakra system starts becoming exhausted, the systems responsible for producing the energy increase their metabolism and, therefore, increase the rate of chakra production. When the levels of chakra become too great for the body to bear, the system decreases its production. In rare cases, however, the system can overcompensate and permanently stifle its own production, leading to chronic fatigue effectively and, in extreme cases, ending that person's life as a shinobi. There was no known cure or treatment.

"So what do you expect Naruto's strength will be if your assumption is true?" Tsunade asked, worried.

"Far better than most who suffer from Chakra Saturation Fatigue," Shikamaru replied, confirming Tsunade's original suspicions. "He should still be able to handle about half a dozen shadow clones, more than most Chuunin..."

"Tsunade," a woman in black hair and a black kimono walked into the doorway, interrupting the conversation. "An ANBU wishes to speak with you."

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but that concludes our meeting, Shikamaru," Tsunade asked. "But there is two other things I must state."

"I'm listening," Shikamaru said, his back already to Tsunade.

"Due to Naruto's predicament, the rank of this mission has increased to A-rank. Also, and I forgot to mention this to you earlier, you will be followed by a backup team." She turned to the woman. "Shizune, I'm aware that you were listening to our conversation."

"Aye," Shizune responded quickly.

"You are to round up two other medic-nin and leave the village two hours after Shikamaru's team leaves. You are to track them to their destination and administer any medical help they and any ANBU may need."

"Aye!" Shizune didn't know whether to be nervous or excited; being Tsunade's personal assistant, she had not been on a field mission in nearly three years. Tsunade trusted her more than anyone else in the village, and she knew it, but such a fact didn't repel a slight feeling of unease. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was indifferent. Deciding that he heard everything he needed to hear, he walked out the doorway where he was leaning. Tsunade paid him no mind.

"While I trust absolutely what Shikamaru said, there is still several aspects of Naruto's condition that have me worried, Shizune." Shizune just stood still, listening intently. "First, Naruto's training largely involved the use of senjutsu."

"Senjutsu?" Shizune was surprised. "You mean, where they manipulate the energy of their environment? At that young of an age?" The only reason Shizune, as well as Tsunade, know about this technique was through Jiraiya. Although the old perverted hermit typically kept the secret under a tight mental lock, he wasn't nearly as careful after he had a few too many saucers of sake in his bloodstream.

"That is correct. Senjutsu becomes effective when its user enters 'sage mode,' or 'hermit mode' as it can also be named, radically increasing the user's strength and allowing him to use the energy of his environment as his own chakra. Naruto may very well be the only human capable of such a feat. Two things concern me, however. First of all, outside of this initial transformation, Senjutsu, while reliant on the user's chakra, isn't abnormally demanding of it. There should be no circumstance where his system should be forced to compensate for chronically excessive levels of chakra, the cause of Chakra Saturation Fatigue. Secondly, he has suffered levels well above those endured during senjutsu due to the Kyuubi, especially in his confrontation with Orochimaru; had he this condition, it should have occurred immediately following that fight or earlier.

"There is more information we need to know about Naruto's health, and I need to stay and help the village. Shizune, you are the only one I trust who can trust in this..." Tsunade thought for a minute. "No, there is one other medic I recommend you take with you..."


	2. Mission Part 2

**"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)** Naruto held his hands in front of his chest, the index and middle fingers of each hand positioned to form a cross. Instead of the typical hundreds of clones he is accustomed to seeing, he was only able to summon six clones, all of whom showed disappointment. If it weren't for his innate ability to sense the limits of his own chakra, an ability that came with frequent use of kage bunshins, he would have created a large number of completely motionless clones and die in the process. This was a forbidden technique, after all.

"Damn," Naruto said aloud. "I haven't improved in three weeks. The strange thing is that, once my clones disappear, it doesn't take me long to recover up to this point. But why can't I get any better? Why can't I make any more clones?" He dissipated the clones in a puff of smoke, then started to walk down the pack-dirt path. He was in no hurry, a day still remained until he needed to reach his destination, and he was only fifty kilometers away from Sunagakure. It would take him four hours, max to reach there. It was a disappointment, too; At full strength, he could have easily made it in an hour and a half without breaking a sweat. At least it would be a relaxing walk. if it weren't for the commotion up ahead.

"Hey, what was that fo – hey, stop that!" Naruto had an eerie suspicion that he heard that voice before, but knew better than to barge into a mess unless he knew what he was up against. To play it safe, he jumped back into the trees and progressed as quietly as he could, which required that he move at a pace that tested his patience, or his lack of it. When he finally approached the source of the sound, he stopped inside the canopy of a particularly leafy tree and observed.

Two ANBU members were quarreling. One was visibly a woman; her hair flowing over the front of both of her shoulders. Six styling needles held up a round bun in the back of her head. Her mask resembled a cat, and her armor was identical to that of the ANBU he met earlier, except that it better fit her curvature. The other ANBU, well...

_That's the same guy who snuck up on me yesterday,_ Naruto thought. He decided to inch closer, getting in on the conversation.

"...I told this kid that his version of stealth would probably get him killed. He was about as obvious as a coffee stain on a nursing blouse, I tell you. Goofy looking kid too."

"Let me guess," the woman replied, sternly, "he had spiky blond hair, whisker-like scars on his cheeks, and orange-and-black clothing."

"Wow, your good," the man stated giddily.

"You IDIOT," the woman rotated, then swung her open palm right against the side of the man's face. The man had to swing his arms around to keep his balance. "That was Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Who?" the man, slightly dazed, questioned, causing another hit to the face. "Stop doing that!"

"Uzumaki Naruto, the one the Hokage told us to inform of his new mission! Now, thanks to you, we'll probably never spot him."

"You are no--" the man started, but then he tensed up. "AAAHH!"

"What?" the woman said, as she watched her partner lose his balance on the branch and fall face-first into the forest floor with a sickening "smack". She then turned around and looked behind her. "Oh, hello, Uzumaki Naruto."

"He he," the hyperactive knucklehead was dangling upside down from a higher branch, his chakra holding him in place. He jumped down onto the same branch as the female ANBU, and took a short moment to catch his breath.

"Uzumaki," the female started, "I am Komachi and my 'friend' down on the floor is Towa. We were requested to deliver the order from the Hokage that you are to abandon your current task and assist another group in an infiltration mission. The group that you will be meeting with will arrive at this location in just over an hour; the two of us will guide you and your group to your destination, then leave you to do your work."

"What kind of mission is this that it is worth everyone in Sunogakure mad at me?" Naruto asked, an image of an enraged Temari and her oversized fan dancing nervously through his mind.

"It is a B-rank infiltration mission," Komachi explained. "The structure in question has only been spotted a few months ago, and it's presence is discomforting to both the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Your primary objective is to ascertain whether the structure is any sort of threat. The people of Sunogakure are already informed." She paused briefly. "That is all I know. The group that will rendezvous here should have more details than I."

"Hmph," Naruto groaned, disappointed. At least he wasn't going to get a steel fan to the face.

"In the meantime, I suggest you eat one of these." Komachi reached into a pocket on the front of her armor vest and pulled out a round object.

"A soldier pill. Great." Soldier pills, although they look like large round candies, are actually a type of medicine made to immediately replenish a ninja's energy. Unfortunately, while they are effective, they aren't particularly appetizing, as they are bitter to some people and simply bland to others. Rather than eating it, though, Naruto simply placed the still-foiled morsel into his backpack.

"Shouldn't you eat that?" inquired Komachi. "You look exhausted."

"I've been exhausted for weeks," Naruto explained. "No matter how much I rest, what or how much I eat, I am not getting better. It's annoying, but a part of me is ready to believe that I will never recover."

"So what exactly have you done to get yourself so tired?"

"Well..."

"Hey, what about me?!?" yelled a voice from below.

"Sorry, Towa. You could have come up at anytime, ya' know!"

"Well, sorry, miss." Sarcasm burned through Tawa's voice like acid. Already standing, Towa simply jumped up and landed on the same branch as the other two. "Sorry about earlier, Naruto."

"No problem," Naruto replied, grinning. "Well anyway, I was spending the last several weeks training with Fukasaku working on a Taijutsu style that would work well when I'm in sage mode..."

"Sage mode?" Tawa interrupted. "What the hell is that?"

"Senjutsu is when one's chakra becomes one with nature," Naruto explained to the best of his ability. Some of this stuff was even beyond his own vocabulary. "Simply put, it gives a person super strength, speed, endurance, and ninjutsu, a state known as 'sage mode' or 'hermit mode'. I remember falling off of a cliff onto a bed of spikes, and it hardly even hurt!" Naruto couldn't see the ANBU's expressions through their masks, but he knew that he grabbed their attention.

"Where did you do this?" Komachi asked, intrigued but slightly suspicious. "And how in the world do you 'become one with nature'?"

"Sorry, both are top secret," was the reply. "Anyway, once I got back to Konohagakure, I found that much of the village had been destroyed due to Pain, so I did whatever I could to help; carrying lumber, doing odd jobs, that sort of thing. I was doing great for about a week, until my body decided one day that it had enough, and I could hardly move. I was able to sleep enough of it off to move again, but my chakra hasn't returned yet. It's annoying as hell."

"But you still have a good level of chakra, given that you can cling to that branch like that," Towa said. "And hell, you can do that 'sake mode' thing and go berserk if you wanted!" He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as Komachi smacked him loudly.

"Idiot, it's 'sage mode', not 'sake mode'," Komachi reprimanded sternly. "If it weren't for ANBU's abstinence policies, I'd be sure you had a few too many to drink. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised."

"You are wrong, anyway," Naruto jumped in, grabbing both the ANBU's attention. "While it may appear that I have a lot of chakra, I don't."

"But you probably have enough chakra to do a half dozen of those kage bunshins you are so famous for," Tawa proclaimed. "No genin and far too few jounin have that much chakra. I don't know what you are complaining about."

"I'm complaining because I should be able to do well over a hundred, maybe a thousand." Naruto was getting annoyed. "I can't believe you are a citizen of Konohagakure and didn't know that. Continuing on, I also can't use senjutsu either because it requires a lot of chakra. That is why I'm probably the only person alive that could do it. At least, I was until my body crapped out on me. And I'll be damned if I let that fox help me out." Naruto immediately went quiet; he let on far more information than he should have with that last sentence. But when he glanced at the two ANBU, he couldn't make out their reactions. At least, until...

"We were already well aware of your 'companion'," Komachi replied, her voice softer than usual. "You've said enough; we have enough information to be able to plan ahead. I'll just make sure to let the captain of your team know of your situation. In the meantime, since you aren't going to eat that soldier pill, you should at least fill your stomach now. If you wait too late to eat, you'll probably throw up once you get moving."

"I'm not hungry..." Naruto denied, but his stomach immediately let out a loud growl. Defeated, he jumped down from the branch onto the ground, threw off his backpack, and reached for a bowl of uncooked ramen, a canteen of water, and a scroll for the fire.

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"Slow down, kid." Shikamaru called out. His team was inside the canopy of the trees, jumping from branch to branch as they traveled towards the Land of Wind. One member, anxiety getting the better of him, had absentmindedly raced ahead of his team.

"Sorry, Nara-sensei." Konohamaru yelled back, slowing down enough for the rest of his team to catch up. Konohamaru, given his short stature, was incredibly speedy; he could outrun and outmaneuver the rest of his team, Shikamaru included, in addition to many other genin. He was certain he was also faster than this other sensei, Naruto. Although he hadn't tested this fact, it was nonetheless true, as long as Naruto didn't use senjutsu, a technique no one in the team had neither seen or even heard of.

_This may not actually be that bad of a team for this mission,_ Shikamaru thought. _Konohamaru has unusual agility and stamina, even capable of creating a few shadow clones. Udon, although he aims to be 'tough' around his teammates, has decent planning and improvisation skills, as well as his __ability to detect enemy tactics, patterns, and formations, a feat no doubt related to exceptional skill in mathematics that he showed during his days at the academy. Moegi has learned to improve her fighting power through controlling her chakra in a manner similar to Sakura's technique. Although her chakra control, and therefore her fighting capabilities, are minuscule compared to Sakura, probably only double of what she would be capable of were she not using the technique, it is impressive considering she learned only by observing Sakura use the technique a small number of times. For genin, they aren't bad._

Shikamaru glanced behind him at the two genin that were trailing close by. Moegi had a small grin on her face, complemented by the red blemishes under her black eyes. Her orange hair spiked up in a way similar to Konohamaru's, a fact that intrigues Shikamaru since neither seem to use any hair-care products that do that. Behind her was Udon, with a tired look on his face. He always wore large eyeglasses, and his hair, unlike his teammates, was shorter and less unkempt. Both wore the same style of goggles as Konohamaru.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu," Konohamaru yelled. Shikamaru looked up to see a large puff of smoke. When the cloud cleared, one Konohamaru was replaced with five.

"Wow," Udon said, his ability to speak hampered slightly by his chronically stuffed up, runny nose. "He created four clones. I didn't think he could do that."

"Five, " Shikamaru corrected, glancing behind the two genin. Udon and Moegi looked back to find another, grinning Konohamaru jump into view.

_That takes an insane amount of chakra for such a young kid, _Shikamaru thought to himself. _While he is nowhere near Naruto as of now, he could very well surpass even the Third Hokage in his __later years. Now if only he wasn't so troublesome. _His thoughts were immediately interrupted when the five clones in front of him disappeared in a puff of smoke with a loud "poof."

"How long will it be until we reached Naruto-kun?" Moegi asked.

"I don't know," Shikamaru replied. "There was no indication where Naruto would be at this moment. He could already be at..." He landed on a branch and stopped. Caught by surprise, the three genin also were forced to stop on the nearest branch they could, although not without having to flail their arms for balance when they got there.

"Why did you stop, Nara-sensei?" Konohamaru asked. It didn't take long before a strong odor wafted through his nostrils. He recognized the scent immediately.

"RAMEN!"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"RAMEN!" Naruto stopped mid-bite when he heard the word echo through the forest. He recognized the voice immediately.

"Konohamaru!" He yelled towards the source of the voice. "I'm over here!" He then went right back to devouring the meal in front of him.

"That was fast," Towi remarked. "I didn't think they'd get here so quickly." He glanced over to his companion, but all he saw was Naruto, sitting on the branch, choking on his last bite of noodles.

"Komachi!" Towi was livid. "Warn me next time you decide to take off!" The only reply he got was his own voice echoing through the trees and the sound of Naruto loudly slurping up broth to clear out his clogged throat. _Damn, this kid can eat._

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Shikamaru, in spite of hearing the voice, stood still. Someone was coming through the canopy, and coming fast. One thing was for sure; it wasn't Naruto. He didn't have to tell the rest of the group either; they copied Shikamaru and fell into a defensive stance, at least as defensive as they could get while standing precariously on a tree branch.

"Nara Shikamaru," the approaching ninja had stopped about thirteen meters in front of the young group. "Am I correct to assume that you were sent by Tsunade to investigate the structure in the Land of Wind?" Her voice, although not threatening, had an air of authority to it. Not that it affected Shikamaru in any way.

"That is correct," Shikamaru replied coldly, his stare resting unrelentingly on the ANBU that stood in front of him. The genin held their positions.

"Your companion, Uzumaki Naruto, is up ahead. I must warn you, though, that his stamina is..." She was having difficulty coming up with the right word to describe the idea she was trying to convey. Fortunately, she didn't have to.

"I am already aware of Uzumaki's condition," Shikamaru assured, "and have come up with a strategy that will work around it."

"Good," the ANBU replied. Her voice, in spite of all attempts of the ANBU to suppress it, was showing signs of relief. "Then I will take you to him."

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"Your friends have arrived." Towi told the genin that was now standing next to him.

_That was Konohamaru's voice, _Naruto thought, referring to the voice he heard when he was enjoying his last meal. _That would only mean... _Naruto's face showed a mix of depression and pain. _...that the leader of my team is that closet-pervert._

"Oi, Naruto!" Naruto glanced up, now both relieved and surprised. His grin, painfully absent since early in his encounter with the two ANBU, was now plastered all over his face.

"Shikamaru!" It only took a short moment before Komachi appeared in the canopy of the trees. Right behind her was Shikamaru, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.

"What the hell?" Towi yelled to no one in particular. "They are a bunch of little kids! We're ANBU, not the Baby-Sitters Club of Konohagakure!" He crouched down, ready to leap off the branch towards the young ninja group and give them a peace of his mind. Except he stayed crouched; he didn't jump. He couldn't jump. _I... can't... move... _He glanced up at the young group, and immediately made eye contact with a focused, serious-looking Shikamaru.

"**Kage Shibari no Jutsu (Shadow Bind Technique)**, successful." Shikamaru said, his voice soft and cold. He kept his hands in front of him, as the seal that they form is necessary to hold the technique.

"Let go of me, you brat!" Towi yelled, making every attempt to stare down the shadow user. He remained stuck for a short amount of time, until Shikamaru smirked and seperated his hands, breaking the technique. Towi only had a split second to go after the kids now that he was free. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that.

"Where are your manners, idiot!?!" was all he heard before Komachi's fist sent the male ANBU careening towards the forest floor with an audible, painful-sounding thud. Komachi looked up at the group, Shikamaru showing a slightly annoyed grin and the three genin using their hands to stifle their laughter. "I apologize for my friend's lack of manners. Or, for that matter, his lack of brains."

_Women are so troublesome, _Shikamaru thought. This idea was a long-standing mantra for him, so Komachi's behavior didn't surprise him in the least bit. At least, Shikamaru believed, Tawa deserved it this time.

"Naruto-sensei!" Konohamaru yelled at his yellow-haired teacher. "You shudda seen the prank I pulled on old-man Yamaka the other day."

"Yamaka, the old geezer who sells those ridiculously useless weapons?" Naruto asked. He hated that old man with a vengeance; Yamaka was among the most open of all the villagers in expressing his hatred towards Naruto, and Naruto sincerely believed that the old man was plotting to murder him.

"Yeah!" Konohamaru declared. "He fell asleep before I made it to his shop; I swear he needed to retire about a hundred years ago. Anyway, I just happen to have some tools on hand, so I painted his face to look like a clown! The entire square was laughing at him!"

Naruto didn't reply verbally; his face showed exactly what he was thinking. He was impressed. At the same time, however, he felt sorry for Konohamaru, as being an enemy of that man was not a smart idea, and he was upset at himself for not getting to the geezer first. Naruto wanted to say something, but he was too overwhelmed with pride due to his rising prodigy to be able to speak. At least until he was interrupted and forced out of his thoughts.

"Naruto," Shikamaru stated. "I heard that you have already heard some details of the mission." He paused, just long enough for Naruto to nod in agreement. "In contrary to what you may have heard, this is an A-rank mission. Other that that, the details remain the same; we are to infiltrate the building that was erected within the borders of the Land of Wind, attempt to navigate the building undetected and derive as much information about it as possible. Our primary objective is to ascertain its threat to surrounding communities. Once we have reached a valid conclusion, we are ordered to retreat and report to Tsunade, where she will use the information to determine future courses of action."

"That sounds simple enough," Naruto replied. Konohamaru nodded in agreement.

"Except," Shikamaru answered back. "Even ANBU has been reluctant to attempt this mission; the risk of loss of life is too indeterminate to go in blind. That is where you and Konohamaru come into play."

"You want my Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto concluded. "No problem, except..." he glanced over at Konohamaru. "...what can he do?" Konohamaru narrowed his eyes at the remark, then gave a sly smirk.

"What can I do?" Konohamaru challenged. "I'll kick your ass, Naruto!"

"Bring it on, brat!" Naruto yelled. 'Brat,' a usually demeaning word, was a word Naruto used only when referring to someone who as earned his respect, especially if that someone is younger than him. It ticked a lot of people off to no end, but not Konohamaru. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** A puff of smoke, then an army of seven Narutos, the original included, jumped to the forest floor, preparing to spar with the young lad.

"Ha!" Konohamaru, answered, excited as he too jumped down to face his sensei. **"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"** All of the Narutos stood in slight awe as the ensuing cloud gave way to three Konohamarus.

"Two to one, kid," one of the Naruto clones yelled. It was still surprising; Konohamaru, last time Naruto knew, could only do a single clone.

"You will not beat us," said the original Naruto, as the seven of them fell into a taijutsu stance. Each clone held his left hand in front of his face in a tiger seal; the other hand was held off to his side, clenched in a fist and ready to strike. His feet, left in front of right, were both facing his opponent. He was in a slight crouching position, leaning forward.

_Not a bad stance, _Shikamaru thought. _But it requires a great amount of speed and strength to utilize effectively; speed and strength that, at your current condition, you do not have. Nonetheless, it is far better than Konohamaru. _He glanced at the Konohamaru clones, all in an impromptu boxing stance that was more suitable for playground brawls than for facing formidable opponents. He always had a small shade of doubt whenever be predicted anything, as there were always small variables that were impossible to detect and take into account. This match, on the other hand, he had absolutely no doubt. Naruto was the clear victor.

"CHARGE!" yelled every clone on both sides, and each group ran head long into the other. The head clone in Konohamaru's group swung a punch at the first opportunity he had, but its target expertly parried it away, no surprise to Shikamaru. What did surprise the shadow user is when another clone punched the Naruto clone in the back, sending it away in a puff of smoke.

_Naruto is too distracted, _Shikamaru thought. _He won't be anymore. _Konohamaru's speed definitely caught Naruto off-guard, and so the remaining five clones split up, attempting to isolate each on of Konohamaru's clones.

_Idiot, _Shikamaru silently critiqued Naruto's strategy. _Konohamaru won't fall for that. Now he can easily isolate and defeat each one of you. You are also moving too slow, if you want to beat him, don't underestimate him! _It took one long look at the only Naruto, the real one, and the only one still in Shikamaru's sight, to realize something else. _Your breathing is too heavy, your stance is losing its form. _ _You are already at your limit. For the first time in my life, I predicted the outcome of a match incorrectly._

The fight only lasted a single minute, with the Konohamaru clones, intact save for one clone, declaring victory. Naruto appeared from the trees, smiling sheepishly. "Eh, I let you off easy. But I didn't expect so many kage bunshins. How did you pull that off?"

"Trade secret," Konohamaru laughed. Naruto relaxed and joined Konohamaru, chuckling lightly.

"Naruto, could you talk to me for a minute?" Naruto's smile faded as he looked up to see Shikamaru jumping down from his perch. Naruto followed him into nearby brush to talk in private.

"You used the Shadow-Bind technique on Towa, didn't you?" Naruto asked. "Why did you, when your Shadow-Imitation is so much better?"

"I always used the Shadow Imitation technique," Shikamaru stated. "But I experimented with the Shadow Bind, although it is now considered in our clan as an outdated technique. I found out that, with some modification, the shadow-bind can be summoned more quickly and uses somewhat less chakra, although it prevents me from influencing my opponent's movements. However, that isn't the reason I called you back here.

"I know that you didn't let Konohamaru win that fight, you put forth your best effort and still lost." Naruto pouted; he hated being corrected, but Shikamaru was correct. "Your stamina has been severely restricted, and that has hampered your effectiveness as a shinobi. Both Tsunade and I had suspected that you are suffering from Chakra Saturation Fatigue."

"Chakra what?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru took a minute to explain the ailment, including its side-effects, potential causes, and the fact there was no cure. Naruto's face fell.

"But I now have reasonable belief that you are not afflicted with this condition."

Naruto felt deep relief. At least this wouldn't be permanent. One glance at Shikamaru, however, drained any hope that he had.

"Naruto, after your match with Konohamaru, I analyzed the performance of your clones and concluded that, rather than plateauing, the primary symptom of Chakra Saturation Fatigue, your strength and chakra levels are weakening. Your chakra system seems to be failing." Naruto's face widened.

_No..._ Naruto, fear overwhelming his thoughts. He thought of Sasuke, his teammate and defector. He thought of Hatake Kakashi, his old sensei. Images ran through his mind of his first Chuunin exam, the moment he learned the Rasengan, the day he nearly splattered in the bottom of a deep ravine before summoning Gamabunta for the first time, the days he spent training his Senjutsu in Myobokuzan. On the outside, Naruto's eyes widened and his body went stiff.

"Whatever this condition is, Naruto, if you continue to degrade at your current rate, you may not have much longer to live."


	3. Mission Part 3

Naruto itched the side of his head nervously. He has been told by many opponents that he was going to die. In those cases, though, those words were nothing more than an empty threat. In this case, however, they were a prediction by a well-trusted teammate who was almost never wrong.

"How long... do you think I have to live?" Naruto pleaded, quiet so that the other members of the group couldn't hear.

"It is no guarantee that you will die," Shikamaru assured, his voice still not showing any amount of emotion. "Given your current rate of decline, it will be about two weeks before you lose the ability to use your shadow clones entirely; after that, four days will be needed before you need urgent care, and three more after that that your system shuts down entirely. Given that this mission should only take the span of a day, we can get you to the hospital in Konohagakure and treat you long before this occurs.

"I am certain that, once you seek treatment, your decline in chakra will be arrested and you will not need urgent care. It is also possible, since this condition is not Chakra Saturation Fatigue, that the condition may also be reversible. I wouldn't get your hopes up, though. A team of medics will arrive about forty-five minutes after we arrive and start our investigation; if you suddenly feel tired, or something else happens to you, get to one of them immediately. The lives of our team take priority even over the mission; that was Tsunade's orders."

Naruto was relieved about one thing; it was unlikely that this was going to kill him. On the other hand, although slightly assuring, Shikamaru's words implied that he may never truly recover; he may never be at full strength again. His dream of Hokage, possibly, may now be just a dream.

"Everyone" the two of them heard Komachi call. "It is time for us to go."

"Hold on," Shikamaru yelled. "There is something I must tell our group. It will take one minute, maximum."

"Well, make it quick. We don't have much time." Shikamaru, Naruto in tow, left the brush they were in and back into the small clearing where the other genin were situation. The other three genin were standing around, attentatively awaiting what the captain had to say.

"Here's the deal. In the beginning of our mission, only shadow clones are allowed to penetrate the establishment. As such, Moegi, Udon, and myself will not initially be directly performing the mission. We are also assuming that our stealth is mandatory; as such, Naruto and Konohamaru will each only have two shadow clones deployed at a time; more clones may be created only when one of the clones has terminated. If a clone finds anything, regardless of the circumstances, they are to dissipate and their user is to inform me. The only exception to this rule is if a clone is captured; it would not be wise if any opponents are aware the technique. If a clone is defeated in such a situation, I will likely make preparations for retreat.

"Any further plans will be made when we arrive. It is likely that we will be forced to improvise, since we are practically walking into the establishment blind. Any issues or questions need to be resolved either on arrival or during transit. That is all."

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"Knowing Shikamaru, they have probably stopped on their encounter with Naruto," conversed the leader of another team that had just left Konohagakure. She wore the clothing of a typical Chuunin or Jounin; green flak jacket covering a long-sleeved navy shirt and navy pants. The only aspect that stood out was that the sleeves extended way beyond her hands. "I think that they will also stop when they reach their destination to plan things further; Shikamaru isn't the type to act without thinking."

"Of course Shikamaru doesn't do that," stated one of the other members of the all-female, all medic-nin team. This one possessed blond hair, with a ponytail in the back that reached to her waist. She wore a modest two-piece mini-skirt that showed a slim midsection. "He was a member of team 10 after all! Can't say the same for Naruto, though."

"Naruto may act like an idiot sometimes," replied the last member of the three-person squad, a pink-haired medic wearing a red kunoichi outfit. "But at least he doesn't sit around being lazy all the time!"

"Are you calling my Shikamaru lazy!?!"

"Hold it, Sakura, Ino," Shizune interrupted, changing the topic. "I didn't choose you two so that we would fight ourselves to the death before we reached our destination. We'll likely need our full strength when we arrive." She paused momentarily, then changed the topic of discussion. "Sakura, upon arrival, you are to prioritize those with physical injuries, as well as any ninja suffering under genjutsu. Ino, you are also to prioritize patients under mental trauma and, like Sakura, any ninja under genjutsu. In the circumstance that casualties, upon arrival, are minimal, which will likely be the case, you will assist Shikamaru and his team while Sakura and I stand by."

All three of them knew that Sakura was the best medic-nin on the team, partly through experience and partly out of her natural ability to control chakra. While Ino was slightly inferior in her medical skills, she was still skilled and respected, and the telepathic skills that run in her family make her particularly useful when the likelihood of medical emergencies were low, a likely scenario for this particular mission.

"I will be assisting you both whenever needed," Shizune continued. "However, my primary focus is Naruto."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, doubtful. "He'd be the least likely to need medical attention."

"Actually, he does need to be examined," Shizune stated.

"He does," Ino asked. "You mean, right this minute?"

"It isn't that urgent," Shizune asked. "But Naruto seems to be suffering from a variation of Chakra Saturation Fatigue."

"Wait, isn't Chakra Saturation Fatigue when a person uses so much chakra that his body just doesn't want to produce it anymore?" asked Sakura, a hint of worry in her voice.

"The user's body still produces chakra at a reduced rate," Shizune replied. "But you have the general idea right. The condition is considered permanent, and there is currently no known cure. This is partly because there are so few cases. Tsunade, in her years as a medic-nin, only encountered three cases, just one being her own patient."

"So," Sakura said, somewhat crestfallen, "Naruto may never get his abilities back."

"Probably," Shizune replied, "although Naruto's case is unique. According to Tsunade-sama, the nature of Naruto's recent training, although only possible due to his abnormal chakra reserves, only demands an abnormal amount of chakra in short intervals, too short for the condition to occur. Secondly, he's endured much higher chakra levels, especially 'foreign' chakra; in all reported cases, Chakra Saturation Fatigue occurred a few days after an unprecedented spike in a user's chakra reserves; it is far more likely that the condition would have affected him during those times, rather than now.

"Foreign chakra?" questioned Ino. It took a few moments before: "You mean... the Kyuubi?"

"Yes," Shizune answered. "And I have reason to be certain that Naruto has been able to fully suppress the demon's power since the incident with Orochimaru, so I doubt that the Kyuubi is responsible for Naruto's condition." While Sakura had personally observed when Naruto went into his four-tailed state, Ino and most other medic-nins, by order of Tsunade, were only allowed to know that the Kyuubi's power had briefly leaked from Naruto, not that Naruto had undergone a full, frightening transformation. Sakura was reasonably certain that Shizune knew about the transformation as well.

"So what's so great about Naruto's training," Ino asked, changing the subject. "I mean, I wouldn't believe anyone could train in a short time to defeat the likes of Pain." Ino was greeted with silence. _Guess they don't know either._

"It might be best, since we will be assisting Naruto during this mission, that you know the full details," Shizune explained. Then her voice became harsh, catching the attention of the two kunoichi that were with her. "Under no circumstance, even under possibility of death, are you to allude to, refer to, or in any way acknowledge what I am about to tell you to anyone else. Not even your own teammates or superiors. That is an order."

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"So let me get this straight," Konohamaru said. "Our clones are to get inside, find something, then simply go 'poof'. How good is that when our clones find something just to disappear without a trace?"

"That's easy," Naruto said. "Shadow clones were developed specifically for missions like this. When they disappear, their observations and experiences are transferred to the user."

"No they don't," Konohamaru denied, pouting slightly. "They never did that for me." Naruto was expecting this. He pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it to the younger genin."

"Create a single shadow clone," Naruto demanded. Konohamaru didn't know what was going on, but complied, creating a single shadow clone that kept up with the rest of the group.

"Clone," Naruto said to the clone. "Take this piece of paper without opening it." The clone complied. "Then stop and go in the other direction. Once we are out of site, open the paper, observe carefully what is inside, then disengage."

"Aye, naruto-sensei," the clone replied. Once another branch was landed on, the clone pivoted around and dashed off.

"What was that for?" Konohamaru asked.

"Just concentrate."

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Meanwhile, a few hundred meters back, the Konohamaru clone stopped and sat on a sturdy-looking branch. Bracing himself, he slowly opened the folded piece of paper. He let go of the piece of paper, afraid if it had a summon spell written on it. When nothing happened, the clone crouched down, grabbed the piece of paper, and glanced at it. At first, the clone's facial expression showed curiosity, but it didn't take long before his eyes widen and his heart started to race. He could only hold the paper for a few more seconds before throwing the paper to the floor and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

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"Do you sense it yet?" Naruto asked.

"No, not ye--" Konohamaru stopped mid-sentence. He was forced to stop on the nearest branch as his mind began to race with the image that had entered his mind. After a few seconds, the shock that had suddenly shown up on his face melted away, his expression turning into one given by someone who was in a dreamy haze. The other members of the group stopped nearby. Naruto, upon seeing the blank look in Konohamaru's eyes, doubled over in fits of stifled laughter.

"Naruto, what the hell did you give that clone?" Shikamaru asked, his voice showing more annoyance than anger.

"It was a page from... Icha Icha Paradise... one of the earliest books I saw... Kakashi-sensei read," Naruto explained in between his lungs' desperate attempts for air.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru complained, standing on a seperate branch with the rest of the genin. "Didn't someone tell you it was not good manners to show a young kid a page from a porno? I mean, look at him. He is going to be thinking about that page for the rest of the night!" Konohamaru jolted out of that daze.

"I'm all right! I'm all right." Konohamaru was both nervous and a little embarrassed. The woman on that page was the most beautiful he had ever seen, and she was bare naked, too. It was the perfect inspiration for Konohamaru's upcoming version of his sexy technique, the Oiroke no Jutsu, the technique that gave Naruto infamy in his earlier years, now since learned and built upon by Konohamaru himself.

"At least now you know that experiences are shared between clones and the user of the technique," Naruto, now calm but still crimson in the face. "This means that, if a clone is defeated or, like yours, simply terminates the technique, not only will the user gain the experiences, but the other clones will as well. Of course, that can also work against you, like it just did now."

"Thank you, Naruto-sensei," Konohamaru replied, his face no less red than Naruto's.

"Let's move, people!" Towa proclaimed, impatient.

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"As I stated, this is top-secret," Shizune replied. "Do you agree to tell no one?"

"Aye," Ino and Sakura replied in unison.

"OK," Shizune started. "As you well know, Naruto spent his training far away from Konohagakure, but his location was kept secret from most of the villagers. During the last several months, including during Pain's failed invasion, Naruto was training in a place that few people have ever gone: the land of summons, Myobokuzan." Ino and Sakura went wide-eyed with a combination of shock and disbelief.

"You mean, not only was he not in the Land of Fire, but he wasn't even on this planet?" Ino asked, awestruck.

"More or less," Shizune answered. "There, he was learning a technique known as senjutsu, which dramatically increases his strength and speed. It also increases the potency and range of ninjutsu that he can use since he has both his own chakra and the energy contained within his environment, that of nature itself. The increase is so large, in fact, that his body become nigh indestructible, capable of falling from great heights without taking significant damage, for example. Also, the available energy he has, thanks to the natural energy he is capable of taking him, could very well make him easily as powerful as pain, and..." Shizune paused. "...Tsunade and I believe that it could actually rival that of weaker bijou."

"Wow," Sakura proclaimed. "You mean to say that he could cause more damage than Tsunade or me?"

"Far more," Shizune answered. "But it is not without disadvantages. Although there are various issues with senjutsu, the two main problems involve the time-consuming nature of performing it and the relatively small amount of time it lasts. I don't know specifics, though. Tsunade had originally thought that these techniques are the cause of Naruto's recent condition, but the nature of the technique made the explanation impossible.

"That is all I know."

Outside of the sounds of leaves rustling as the ninja continued towards their destination, it was completely quiet. Before, they had no idea what Naruto was capable of; even know, they had difficulty comprehending what Shizune just said. Naruto on another world, training in arts few humans have ever even seen? Unbelievable.

"Shizune-sama," asked Sakura. "Why don't more people know or use senjutsu?"

"Simple," Shizune asked. "Very few people have the capability to pull it off. Jiraiya also used the technique, but even he, one of the Legendary Three, wasn't near the level where he could utilize it fully without some, well, unpleasant side effects. Naruto could very well be the only person in our lifetime that may have the chakra reserves needed to utilize this technique to its fullest, and he can do it without a reliance on the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Not only may he become the most powerful ninja in present-day Konohagakure," a brief pause, "but he may very well become one of the most powerful shinobi in history."

"You mean, he could be as strong as the heroes in those stories and movies we saw as kids?" Ino asked, trying to ease the newfound anxiety that permeated the group. Then an image came to her head, and she started to giggle. "I can only imagine how the kid would look in one of those ridiculous outfits they all wear." While Sakura initially took the remark as an insult to her teammate, it only took one mental image before a smile came to her face.

_Ino is right, Naruto, _Sakura thought to herself. _Then again, with that grin of yours, you probably look ridiculous wearing just about anything. _"So what should we expect when we get there?"

"Most likely, not much," Shizune remarked. "I actually don't understand why Tsunade felt the need to send three medics."

"I think I can," Ino replied. The others turned to her. "First of all, like you said, Shizune-sama, Naruto's condition was probably one of the factors, maybe requiring the full attention of a medic himself. Secondly, considering that this mission is probably going to take awhile, they are going to need help maintaining their stamina and strength." She pointed to the backpack she wore. Inside of it where soldier pills, various antidotes, medicines, and beauty products, the last of which, of course, are for herself. She did have too look nice in front of her teammates. "Lastly, since ANBU couldn't penetrate the structure, it is possible that it is protected by traps and genjutsu; when the mission gets underway, injuries will be more likely."

"Good job, Ino," Sakura said. "I couldn't have come up with a better explanation myself!"

"I had time to think about it," Ino said, cheerfully. "I also talked with Shikamaru."

"Actually," Shizune said. "I don't think Tsunade herself thought that far ahead. You know how she is; thinks with her heart, not with her mind."

"Hey, Shizune," Ino asked, still in a humorous mood. "Now that you're not around, how long will it be before Tsunade loses her mind?" Although she was just joking, the piercing eyes of her teammates told her that she pushed the envelope just a little to far. She sighed and faced forward, remaining silent for the rest of the trip, her face showing no evidence of the last conversation.

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"As we mentioned before," Komachi stated. "We were only to take you to this point, not assist you on your mission. Towa and I have a mission in Sunagakure to complete. You have three hours until sundown, so plan that accordingly."

"Aye, thank you," Shikamaru's stated, unemotional but polite. Of course he was aware of the time; he figured before they left that this would be about the time of arrival, even if he didn't accommodate two ANBU to escort them. "We can take it from here." With that, the ANBU left the edge of the forest into the open sands, heading for the village that was hidden within them. Shikamaru looked at his group to find the members of team Konohamaru sitting in a tight circle, laughing and joking at Konohamaru's expressions of the old man he tricked the other day. Naruto, on the other hand, was leaning against a tree, a loosely-formed rasengan in his hands. The ball was slightly larger than the rasengan he usually developed for battle, but it was semi-transparent, the energy much less dense than usual.

"What do you think you are doing?" Shikamaru reprimanded. "Don't waste your chakra right before a mission!"

"I'm not," Naruto asked. "I'm just... seeing how much I have." He slowly dissipated the rasengan, it becoming more transparent as the chakra reentered Naruto's hands until what little was left of it got blown into the wind.

"Fine, whatever," Shikamaru dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Naruto, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, listen up!" All four of them stood at attention. "In case you haven't been aware, we are at the edge of the forest, meaning we are in the Land of Wind. This will be our base of operations until the mission is complete. For the time being, no ninja are to leave; only Konohamaru's and Naruto's shadow clones are to attempt to go into the desert and infiltrate our target. Remember, only two are to be deployed at a time. This is to allow the user to adequately recover in case one or both of his clones are defeated or dissipate and need to be replaced, since creating more clones means a substantially greater amount of time needed to recover.

"There is another reason, as well. As we will not have direct communication with our clones, the only way we can communicate is when a clone terminates, since his experience is passed onto the user and other clones. If we have to give orders from here, we will simply have both users create an addition clone, give these clones the orders, then have them dissipate; the other clones will get the order as a result.

"I mentioned earlier that the clones are to terminate whenever they find something important. I have since realized that this explanation is inadequate. Clones are to terminate once finding something important, but they are to first confirm their observation if it is certain not to result in detection. In this case, it is better to dissipate immediately if there is any doubt. Also, the clone must be in an area where the likelihood of detection is minimal; I have calculated that, if the air inside of the building is stagnant, the smoke that results from a clone after termination may last up to fifteen seconds. If it is likely that detection is inevitable, and terminating the technique would reveal our strategy, it may be better to be captured. If one clone notices that another is captured, he will try to escape undetected and dissipate. Upon learning that one user has a clone captured, the other will give the order to escape if possible."

"Too many things to think about," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I prefer things simple."

"Oi, you can be troublesome Naruto," Shikamaru said. "Just remember this; find what you can, get away if you can, disappear only when you can without detection. If capture is inevitable, it is better for our enemy to believe the infiltrators are real ninja than kage bunshins."

"Got it!" Naruto said. Konohamaru nodded as well; apparently he didn't get the explanation the first time either.

"Udon," Shikamaru directed his eyes at the kid with glasses.

"Aye," Udon replied, a hint of shyness in his voice.

"The edge of the forest nearest to our target is three kilometers north of our current location. Konohamaru's and Naruto's clones will be using that point to exit the forest and investigate the structure. You and I will be setting up station there, to observe the fortress from the exterior.

"Moegi, you will remain with the original Naruto and Konohamaru. You will be wearing a radio headset, which you will use to stay in contact with me. The reception will not be perfect, but it should be more than adequate for our purposes. In addition to acting as a liaison between the two groups, you will keep track of your surroundings, alerting your group and then contacting me when an abnormality arises. Remember that, in about an hour, Shizune, Sakura, and Ino will arrive here. Either describe to them our situation, or give your handset to Shizune and I'll talk with her myself. Once they arrive and they understand our situation, you are to assist them in any way possible."

"Aye," Moegi shouted, enthusiastic.

"Our mission will start in twenty minutes. Rest and prepare."

"Aye!" the three youngest genin replied, before sitting down and reforming their tight circle. Naruto went to a nearby tree, and started reforming his rasengan.

"If you don't mind me asking," Shikamaru asked as he walked slowly towards Naruto, his hands in his pockets, "has your chakra degraded since we last talked?" Naruto was silent, concentrating on his rasengan, before he replied simply.

"Yeah."

"How much." Naruto went silent again, his eyes peering over the semi-transparent ball of whirling energy he carried in his hands.

"Probably down to being able to create just five clones." Naruto had no worry in his voice. Shikamaru, however...

"Naruto, why didn't you tell me?"

"You told me specifically to contact one of the medics, not you," Naruto replied. "Unfortunately, they are not here yet. Besides, I noticed something else."

"What's that?" Shikamaru couldn't help but be slightly curious. Naruto rarely noticed anything.

"I've been monitoring my chakra levels since I left for the rice fields a few days ago," Naruto asked. "And I've noticed that the only time my chakra gets worse when I'm traveling. What is weird is that, as long as I stay in one general location, even when I'm using up a lot of chakra and moving around a lot, I don't get worse."

"That doesn't make any sense," Shikamaru remarked.

"I can't make heads or tails out of it either," Naruto sighed.

"Look, since you are so certain that your chakra levels decrease when your general location changes, although it makes absolutely no sense how your system is affected differently when you travel versus when you run in circles, I'm going to let you continue on your mission. However, you are to monitor your own chakra levels and that of your clones. Given that your clones are going to be covering some distance, some more information might present itself as to the cause of your condition. Also, you must consent to any medical treatment that you are given by the team heading our way."

"Shikamaru," Naruto stated, smiling. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had the potential to become a medic-nin."

"Naruto, dealing with healthy women is bad enough. Dealing with women in pain, drugged, or messed up would not be troublesome; it would be a living hell." Shikamaru paused for a minute, then realized something.

"By the way, you acted surprised that I told you earlier that your chakra was in decline, yet you have been monitoring your chakra well before that. Then why...?" He was interrupted by a loud sigh coming from Naruto.

"I was aware that I was losing chakra," Naruto said, grimly. "I have just been denying the fact for a while. Guess hearing it from someone I trust really drove the point home."

"Sorry, Naruto." In his great intelligence, these were the only two words Shikamaru could think of that were appropriate for the situation.

"Don't worry about it."


	4. Invasion

"Naruto, Konohamaru, time's up." Shikamaru was looking out into the desert, his back leaning against a tree. A earth-colored blanket was set underneath one of the canopies, and both Naruto and Konohamaru were sitting on top of it, legs crossed and back straight. "Time to start the mission."

"Aye!" both ninja yelled in unison. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** The 'base', or more specifically the patch of forest ground that the group decided would be their base of operations, was covered in a blanket of smoke. A few seconds later, a breeze blew the smoke away, revealing four clones, two each of Naruto and Konohamaru, standing up around their conjurers.

"Udon, clones," Shikamaru called. "Follow me. Moegi, stay here and watch out for intruders. Naruto, Konohamaru, keep your eyes peeled, focus, and conserve as much energy as possible and communicate with each other; although clones share experiences with other clones of the same person, the same cannot be said between the two of you." With that, Shikamaru, Udon, and the four clones jumped into the canopy of the trees and disappeared.

"Well, now we sit and wait." Konohamaru dropped his backpack behind him, reached inside and pulled out a small toy, a multi-colored, segmented cube. He proceeded to twist the various segments, as Naruto watched, entertained.

"What is that thing," Naruto asked. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Shikamaru got it for me one one of our missions together," Konohamaru stated. "It's a puzzle; your goal is to make it so each side of the cube is all one color. I forgot what it was called... er... oh yeah, a Rubik's cube."

"It looks tough," Naruto asked. Then again, Naruto was never good at puzzles.

"I've never been able to solve it," Konohamaru admitted. "Shikamaru-sensei says that, no matter what the cube looks like, you can always solve it in 22 moves or less. But no one is that good."

"Good luck, then." Naruto then set his hands on his lap, closed his eyes, and focused. Konohamaru looked at the blonde, puzzled at what his sensei was up to.

"You, meditating? What the hell... Who are you and what have you done with Naruto?" He was only greeted with a slight smirk from Naruto.

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"Why don't people like this building so much?" Udon asked, as he and the rest of the group were bounding through the forest canopy.

"This is our stop," Shikamaru declared. "If you want to figure out what makes this structure so disturbing, see for yourself." He pointed towards the forest's edge. Udon and all four clones used the opportunity to exit the forest to the desert. They were immediately awestruck and frightened by the site that greeted them.

The jet-black fortress, made of a shiny material that matched no description of any material used in Konohagakure; it ability to absorb the light around it almost threw off depth perception, especially contrasting the cloudless sky that framed it. The base of the building was several kilometers wide, easily enough to cover one of Konohagakure's smaller residential districts. It's height was no less intimidating, as it tapered almost to a point as it just brushed the low-lying clouds as it threatened to penetrate the heavens themselves. Lined outside of the walls were small holes that could roughly be defined as windows, except they appeared to have no glass and were very small. As close as the group was to the structure, only six hundred meters from the nearest point on the structure's perfectly circular base, this monstrosity was titanic; they would be completely overshadowed by it if not for the fact that the sun was setting behind them. But still, at this distance, the building essentially blocked all possible view of the desert; it was either stare back into the forest or gaze at a wall of pure black.

"An approximate base diameter of three thousand, one hundred forty meters, and a height of two thousand one hundred meters. No material known in any village is capable of supporting a structure of this scale, especially given the fierce winds that occasionally blow here. This is why the ANBU are so nervous; if they cannot make out what the building is made of or what its purpose is, who knows what is inside."

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Back at the base, Naruto continued to meditate while Konohamaru, frustrated with his cube, gnawed at it, attempting to break it apart so that he could put it back together solved. At this rate, it was probably the only way he was going to get anywhere with the cursed device.

"Stupid cube," Konohamaru muttered to himself as he threw the cube in front of him. The toy bounced along, nearly colliding with a tree before it settled into the sand that encroached the forest. Somewhat satisfied at his recent release of anger, Konohamaru slowly got up and walked towards the sand. When he got to it, he looked down, amusing himself as he attempted to crush the innocent cube, threatening to ends its functional life. At the last minute, the kid gave up, stepped back and picked up the cube. He turned around, is attention on his cube. It didn't stop him when something black passed the top of his vision. He looked up.

"HOLY SHIT, NARUTO!" Naruto was shocked awake. Konohamaru may be a pervert, he may be a prankster, but he never used vulgar language.

"Watch your mouth, brat!" Naruto yelled back. "What the hell was that for, anyway?"

"You need to look at this..." Konohamaru trailed off, his eyes wide in a combination of shock and horror. Naruto, although he wanted to sit back down and regain his energy, as his shadow clones took no small portion of chakra to create, admitted defeat and jumped up from his seated position. His eyes were still droopy; at least until he walked over to Konohamaru, turned, and looked up.

"What...the...hell...?" was all Naruto could mutter as he gazed at the black cone that nearly pierced the heavens. Even from their distance, over three kilometers away, the building was still massive, filling up most of their field of vision with its sheer size. It was obvious why this thing was a threat; it simply isn't possible for a building of that size to be built, and anything that broke the laws of physics was almost never a good thing. Even the two of them new that. Apparently, so did Moegi, as she now stood with the rest of the group, sharing in their paralyzed expression. After a tense moment, she was the first one to speak.

"We're gonna be here awhile."

While Naruto agreed, it wasn't the size of the building that got to him. Something felt... cold about it. _It's like when I faced Orochimaru, _Naruto thought to himself. _Although I could always fight him, deep down I was always a little afraid. I don't know why I was afraid, or could only guess at what I was truly afraid of; it's like I'm feeling someone else's fear, and I can't control it. _Naruto fidgeted a little and took a deep breath. _No, something's different. Against Orochimaru it didn't get in my way; I was able to get over it. Here, though, I can't help but think of... of death. I can't get it to leave my mind. What the hell?_

"Naruto?" Naruto was able to interrupt his thoughts long enough to see that Konohamaru was looking up at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Not at all!" Naruto managed to put a goofy grin on his face, albeit not without conscious effort. Inside, he was both confused and terrified. He always had good instincts, so he knew to trust his own feelings when in the middle of a mission. But when they felt like this, when they felt so... 'alien'... he never knew what to think. "Let's get back in the shade. If we stand out here too long, our brains will cook!"

Back in the safety of the forest, Naruto nerves immediately calmed down. While the banter between Konohamaru and Moegi initially involved what they just saw ("Hey, I bet you could fit everyone in the Land of Fire in that building!" "I don't know what's so great about it. It looks like a giant Dunce cap!" "Why couldn't they make it more colorful? Like green?"), but the conversation eventually subsided and Konohamaru laid down on the blanket underneath the tree. Naruto, his focus still on the building, leaned on the tree's trunk. He wasn't able to get a single thought through his head when Moegi, her hands clasped on the earpiece of her radio, interrupted him.

"Shikamaru says that the clones are on their way now."

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_A few moments earlier_

"To recap," Shikamaru ordered. He was seated cross-legged on the forest floor while the clones and Udon stood around him. "Given the great height of the building, it is most likely that anything worth taking would be near the cone's peak. Since we are not taking anything, however, the four of you are to stay near the structure's base and search for any leads there. Although it is probable that leads would be more abundant the higher we go, it is almost certain that security measures become more thorough as we ascend. Remember, this is an infiltration mission, not an invasion; our goal is to get in and get out without detection. Any last questions?"

"Yeah," one of the Konohamaru clones replied. "Why are our 'real' selves so far away from here. Wouldn't it be faster if we were all together?"

"Possibly," Shikamaru answered. "You can call it somewhat of a safety net. Remember that, above all else, try not to get detected. If you get detected, the last thing we need is for them to realize that you guys are actually shadow clones. Above all else, if it does happen that the technique itself is discovered, as shadow clones will automatically terminate given a severe enough blow, it would improve our chances of survival if the user's of the technique are separate from us; in the case that we are interrogated, we can simply say that we saw clones go by, but do not know where they are coming from."

"So is that why you had Udon give Konohamaru his hitai-ite," asked one of the Narutos. "I also noticed that you weren't wearing one yourself."

"Aye," Skikamaru asked. "I hate to ask you this, as the hitai-ite is a symbol of Konohagakure, but I must request that you take them off. I forgot to mention this earlier, but we don't know if this 'place' is of a threat yet. It would be a bad idea if these guys are a potential threat and we end up ruining any chance of diplomacy, so we want to make sure, as much as possible, that our mission cannot be tied to our village. I would have asked them all to leave them before we left the village, but it simply didn't come to me at the time."

The Naruto clones complied. It took some time for them to navigate through the knots that held the band on their heads, but they eventually managed to free the band, letting it hit the floor with a loud, smoky poof. The Shikamaru couldn't help but notice that each of the clone's foreheads were slightly red.

"When is the last time you washed your Hitai-ite, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "Heck, I see you sleep with that thing on; when is the last time it has even left your head?" Both Narutos twisted their faces in deep thought. "Never mind," interrupted Shikamaru. He got his answer. _Far too long. You really need to learn good hygiene, Naruto. _Konohamaru, had a much easier time removing his hitai-ite, although he wore his on his arm, something he started doing after thinking that Shikamaru had the right idea the whole time, and only had one arm available to tie the knot.

_Next mission, I'm putting you back on my forehead, _one of the clones thought. _The knot always rubs, it's annoying._

"There is one other thing." Shikamaru stood up as he addressed the group. "From what I see, there are multiple doorways to get inside, spread around the perimeter of the base. You are to detect where these entrances are, and try to avoid them; use one of the nearby windows to sneak in, if possible. The windows are far less likely to be guarded. Be vigilant both when entering and navigating the interior; we are unsure what kinds of security or surveillance they have at their disposal. Also, keep track of your position, so that whatever you find can be confirmed, a feat that would be impossible should you all get lost in there. Go!"

"Aye!" All the clones and Udon replied, standing in attention. The four clones all took off towards the building in a full sprint, scattering just as they left the forest and entered the open desert. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, not a single breeze capable of blowing the desert sand. While this may have made concealing their entrance a bit more difficult, at least they didn't have sand constantly getting in their eyes.

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_Back to present time_

"There they go!" Konohamaru yelled, as he propped himself against a tree with an extended arm and gazed into the forest. "Guess all we can do now is wait."

"Remember that Sakura and the others'll be here before long," Moegi replied cheerfully.

"How do you know it's Sakura that's coming?" Konohamaru asked. "The only thing Shikamaru said is that they are a bunch of medic-ninja. We might even get that old hag that I always get during our checkups in the academy."

"Er," Moegi thought aloud, "just a lady's intuition, I guess."

"Yeah, whatever," Konohamaru dismissed. "Besides, they won't be here for another half an hour. Man, this is so boring!"

"Tell me about it," Naruto replied. "I'd much rather be carrying decorations from Sunagakure than sitting around waiting for a clone to vanish. What crap!" He had taken back his meditative stance, but was too annoyed about everything, not to mention the thought of that feeling he had earlier occasionally distracted him. He finally gave up on the idea, and instead started on a conversation. "Hey kid, last time I saw you, you could only do one clone. Since when have you been about to do multiple clones?"

"Just a lot of practice," Konohamaru said, his face giving an expression of slight puzzlement. "Actually, all the grown-ups keep telling me that I have a lot of chakra for a kid my age, kind of like you did. Apparently people have been saying that I might live up to my grandpa some day. Maybe I'll become stronger than you, Naruto-sensei."

"Maybe, brat," Naruto stated, grinning. "Maybe some day you'll be powerful enough to use senjutsu, too."

"Senjutsu?" Konohamaru leaned off of his tree and folded his arms, his mind wrapping around the word he just heard, trying to attach some kind of meeting to it.

"Let's just say that it is a special ability that very, very few people can do," Naruto stated. "Even ero-sennin couldn't do it right."

"And you can, Naruto?"

"Yep!" Naruto's smile faded. _If I wasn't so weak._

"Don't listen to him, Konohamaru," Moegi, sitting on a branch right above the other two, called out. "Naruto may just be pulling your leg like he always does."

"I'm not lying!" Naruto yelled back. Not getting a reply back from either of them, he closed his eyes again, trying to meditate now that his nervousness had waned. _Focus..._ He slowly cleared his mind of all thoughts, pushing his consciousness inward, vacating any and all aware of external senses. Before long, he could start feeling his own chakra flow through him, reaching every pore and crevice on his body. _Further..._ He continued to focus, then his senses began to broaden. He could begin to sense the chakra around him, that of Konohamaru and Moegi, then, subtly the energy of the forest itself. His senjutsu training, in addition to giving him a state of radically increased ability, also afforded him the ability to sense chakra, given that his focus was unwavering.

"Don't interrupt him, Konohamaru." Moegi whispered loudly, barely enough for Konohamaru to hear. Uneasy by his sensei's odd behavior, Konohamaru was leaning over Naruto, reading to give him a good shaking up. He backed off only because of Moegi. "He's trying to focus his chakra."

"On what?" Konohamaru, aloud but much quieter than user, looked up at his teammate.

"Um... I don't know?"

"Then how do you know he's even focusing his chakra anyway. He could be asleep for all we know."

"Eh... I don't know..."

"Ugh." Konohamaru shook his head and walked away, defeated.

Naruto, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to what the others were doing around him. His focus instead was much further away, on the giant cone that the clones have, by now, penetrated. He could sense the chakra of the four clones, although he couldn't pinpoint them; his technique, although far-reaching, had its limits. Instead he focused on trying to find any other sources of chakra. The outline of the cone was firmly set on his mind. Throughout the entire cone, chakra permeated the cone's walls. There wasn't much, but what was there was spread out, and, as far as Naruto could tell, all of the chakra looked human; no abnormalities in color or magnitude. In fact, if there were any shinobi in there, they would mostly be D-rank anyway. It was doubtful that the clones would encounter any significant danger, at least if faced with combat.

But two energies stood out, both near the cone's tip. One was small, but it gave Naruto the eerie impression that he had seen it before. He was reminded of some of his Akatsuki encounters, but the amount of chakra was too small for an Akatsuki; Many S-rank ninja probably blow more chakra out of their nose in a sneezing frenzy than what this guy contained, but it still gave him a sure impression of an Akatsuki.

But this other source... it didn't seem like chakra. It shared a similar property that the cone itself did; it was black. _Chakra... isn't black... _Naruto's double-take nearly broke him out of focus, but instead he tried narrowing his vision down to that spot, although the distance he was trying to see was too great for any detail; he wouldn't be able to make out any physical properties of whatever created this energy. But one thing's for sure. _It's black. And... _Naruto tried to focus, but what he saw immediately overwhelmed his concentration, bringing his consciousness back into the group.

"Welcome back, Naruto," Konohamaru frowned, still slightly doubtful as to what Naruto was doing then. Naruto ignored him.

"Moegi," Naruto's voice was lower than usual, and almost frightfully serious. "Give me your headset."

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_Later..._

"Naruto, I seriously hope that what you are telling me is accurate. No, we will continue with our mission; if what you say is true, we must get as much information as absolutely possible. Since the clones are focusing on the lower levels, we should be fine as long as your true selves aren't discovered. Inform me if any more details come up." Shikamaru pulled the mouthpiece of his headset away from his face, folding it up over his head.

"What's goin' on?" Udon, tired and attempting to arrest a runny nose with a box of tissues he just happened to bring along, asked his team leader. Both of them were on the forest floor, focusing on the cone.

"Naruto, apparently, has gained a very strong chakra sense since we last worked together," Shikamaru explained. "Apparently, although most of the few thousand people in there have low chakra, there may be an Akatsuki member inside of it, although his or her chakra levels are unusually low. Naruto also claims that there may be a bigger threat; a source of one of what he claims to be extremely intense, reaching or exceeding that of a Kage. Black chakra, for that matter."

"Black chakra?" Udon asked. "I never seen that before."

"Black chakra isn't a naturally occurring phenomenon" Shikamaru went on. "However, as you know, we don't know truly what is in that building, or what its purpose is. There has been research dating back for some time of combining chakra through some sort of refining process. The result, when successful, resulting in chakra that had the properties of the two original energies, and also some other properties that were a bit, 'unpredictable'"

"Oh?" Udon was curious and a little excited. He always liked learning new things.

"Even after controlling as many variables as possible, the result of the refinement wasn't consistent, and that proved dangerous. Some chakra took on elemental forms; for example, one experiment that occurred in Konohagakure's first years resulted in fire chakra that burned a significant portion of one residential district before being extinguished. As such, the first Hokage made it official policy to ban such experiments. Other villages and, eventually the Feudal Lords themselves, followed suit and effectively ended such experimentation on this continent. Of course, some, like Orochimaru, took his experiments underground, and this may be related.

"Given this revelation, I believe that this mission has gained a significant element of urgency to it. If anything that Naruto said has a grain of truth to it, whoever or whatever built that thing is a considerable threat to the livelihood of not only the Land of Wind, but all of the continent. Although this is breaking mission orders, we must investigate more deeply; we cannot risk delay."

"Oh, boy," Udon sighed. This was well beyond the scope of the mission description.

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"Wow..." One of the Konohamaru clones gaped, the jaw of his mouth dropped slightly as he gazed up. He had sneaked in through a window about 50 meters above the ground, after coming to the conclusion that there were no traps or people within view. The corridor he had to travel through, although it was long, wasn't particularly interesting; completely whitewashed, doors and all. When the clone reached the doorway and, crouched down with his back against the side wall, peered through the opening, the sight he found stunned him.

The interior of the cone, save for a layer of rooms outside of the exterior and a towering structure through the cone's axis roughly 100 meters in diameter, was completely hollow. The interior walls, like the hallway, were completely white washed and decorated with bare metal stairwells and boardwalks. The railings that lined every stairwell were gray, while the industrial fence that acted as a barrier along the walkways was neon yellow. This appearance was effective as far up as the clone could see, although the combination of the extreme height and tapering nature of the far-away walls made the shinobi dizzy; it was almost fortunate that another walkway about 20 meters up blocked the uppermost floors from his vision.

_This place is huge!_ While the building was large in the exterior, the ninja clones, never spotting the building from a distance, were unable to fully comprehend the full dimensions of their target. The few hundred people that he spotted on the other side of the building were mere specs. The only thing he could tell was that they were wearing white clothing; any more details would require up-close attention. And he had just the jutsu to pull it off. But first he had to find someone. Unfortunately, he found someone a lot quicker than he has hoped.

"Freeze." The voice was deep, soft, and noticeably threatening.

He felt his back stiffen. This kage bunshin had only been inside for a whole minute, and already his position was found out. Defeated, he slowly straightened his legs and attempted to turn around when...

"Don't move another muscle, or you will die." He knew better than to act rashly when his life was threatened; although his life, or more accurately the life of Konohamaru, wasn't in danger, but acting out of character may reveal who, or what, he really is. Instead, he simply stayed put, his face in the corner and his body straight vertical. He heard his captor engage in a quick conversation.

"Hey, Tetsuya-chan, what's up?" In contrast to earlier, the voice was incredibly animated and upbeat, the sudden change in tone slightly catching the clone off guard, although the clone remained perfectly still.

"Nothing, Haya-kun," was the reply. Apparently, the other person was on the other side of the doorway. "Remember our appointment tonight."

"Of course," the clone heard his captor laugh. "You won't beat me, ya' know."

"Don't count on it. I have never lost a game of shogi. I will never lose to you!" Footsteps were heard as the other man, presumably named Tetsuya, walked down the boardwalk away from the corridor where the clone and his captor stood. He took a sigh of relief, before he heard his captor.

"Come this way. Be quiet; don't make a sound, and don't complain." The sternness that was lost in his voice had come back. Before the clone could figure out what direction he was supposed to go, he felt someone grab onto his shoulder and pull him away from the corner where he stood. Only when the clone regained his balance and walked on his own did he get the chance to see who his captor was.

The man was young-looking and somewhat slender. Standing at about 160 centimeters, he was roughly the height of Naruto, but he was definitely a little older, probably 17 or 18 years of age. He wore a long, thin, white jacket that hung well below his waist, reaching just beyond the back of his hips. He left the jacket unbuttoned, exposing a light lavender undershirt. His pants were a vibrant green, matching the radiance of his similarly colored eyes. While this person's appeared dramatically different than Naruto, the clone couldn't help but think of two similarities between them, besides the height: a slightly wild hair style, although his captor's hair was long enough to be bent behind him and extended just past his shoulders and was more amber in color; and a 'disruptive' sense of fashion, or lack of said sense altogether.

The stopped at a door, right next to where the clone had made his entrance into the building. The door was white, just like every wall and door that the clone had seen so far; it made him wonder if any of the other clones had already gotten themselves lost. He saw, in the corner of his eye, his captor reach into his jacket pocket with his available right hand, grab a single key, insert it quickly into the keyhole of the door, and open the door with a twist of that same hand. He then felt his captor's other hand, still grasping his shoulder, push him inside.


	5. Catch and Release

'Konohamaru', or more specifically, his clone, found himself on his hands and knees against the cold concrete floor. The shock of getting captured so quickly, within a single minute of entering the structure, had yet to fade away.

"Get up kid, no one's going to hurt you," his captor assured. "Although keep your voice down; the last thing we need is to start a ruckus." The young man, after walking through the doorway after 'Konohamaru' and locking the door behind him, walked past the young shinobi and, eyeing the lone round metal table in the center of the square room, sat down. "You might as well get up here and sit down; there are a few things we need to discuss."

"Like hell I'm gonna talk," 'Konohamaru' stated.

"Then let me start then," the man turned to face his captive, who was just now on his feet. "As you probably heard, my name is Haya, or, more accurately, Hayashi. Don't ask why my parents named me after a bunch of trees, I guess they didn't have any imagination." Hayashi managed to sport a grin, the first time the clone had seen him smile. Konohamaru relaxed, until he heard the next words. "I know that you are a shadow clone, that there are three others of you here, and that your users are about three and a half kilometers south of here, working with a team that is on the border of the forest nearest our location"

"Wha...?" Konohamaru gaped, stunned. The mission was ruined; not only was he found out, but everyone else was as well. _Damn, retreat._ He was almost ready to put his hands together in a seal to break the technique, but he was interrupted.

"There is no need to do that; I'm the only one who currently knows of your mission, so your friends are in no danger. That's why I need to keep asking you to keep your voice down." Certain, for one reason or another, that the mission wasn't in immediate jeopardy, Konohamaru put his hands down and grabbed at the only remaining chair on the opposite side of the table, and set himself down, thinking how oddly convenient it was that there were just enough chairs for the two of them and almost nothing else in the entire room, save for a single, small, brown cardboard box in one corner. Who knows what was in that. "By the way, shinobi, what is your name?

"I'm not going to say," Konohamaru stated after some hesitation.

"I can understand if you don't want to give away any indication who you are or where you are from," Haya replied. "But let me let you in on one more secret..." Haya leaned over and whispered. "You are from Konohagakure." 'Konohamaru', upon hearing this, actually relaxed; he wasn't overly surprised on his latest statement; he did know pretty much everything up to this point, so why not?

"All right," the clone replied. "My, er, 'his', name is Konohamaru. Super ninja and master prankster at your service!" 'Konohamaru's' behavior was, to say the least, inappropriate for this situation, but he had been waiting a LONG time to state his calling card, the one line he wanted people to remember him by. Well, at least his user had. It took a second for the clone's mind to return back into reality, before "I'm saying so any more."

"You don't have to," Haya dismissed. "You merely need to listen, listen carefully, then send something back to your group."

"Wait a minute..." 'Konohamaru' had just realized something, although he was still skeptical. "Are you saying that you want to help us? But why?"

"I have my reasons." Hayashi tilted his head down, covering his face with two interlocking hands; Konohamaru noticed that this posture was exactly the same as Tsunade's whenever she was thinking about something. "I hate to be vague, but I want to refrain from revealing too much about myself until the time is right." 'Konohamaru' felt some disappointment. "It isn't that our objectives, or our reasons behind them, contradict in any way. It's just that mine are a little more, 'personal'. I hope you understand."

"I understand."

"Good." Hayashi quickly got up and walked towards the corner where the small box was left, picked up the container and set it on the table. It was about a half-meter square, but Hayashi appeared to carry it with hardly any effort. "The contents of this box will definitely help you on your mission, but only if you manage to get it back to your team leader before you get caught. The earlier you get this to him, the better"

"OK, but how do we know that this isn't a bomb, or something?"

"Two reasons." Hayashi grabbed the box, then gave hit a violent shake. Soft rattling and rustling could be heard inside. "One, most bombs go off when jostled around like that. Two, I did not explicitly tell you that you couldn't look at it, although I recommend that you refrain from doing it until you get away from here."

"OK, see ya!" 'Konohamaru' hastily grabbed the box, jumped out of his chair, and headed for the door. _Hey, this box is pretty light._

"Hold it," Hayashi stated softly as he got up and walked towards the door. "Look up to your right."

'Konohamaru' stopped momentarily and looked where Hayashi told him. On the wall, near the ceiling, was a black box with an image of the hallway from where they entered the room. _A monitor, '_Konohamaru' observed. He recalled some of the information he learned as a kid. _These are used to keep track of certain locations, to make sure that no one is doing anything wrong. They put cameras in certain places and use these monitors to watch through them. They use these a lot in the Chuunin exams._

"There is someone outside of our door," Hayashi stated. Konohamaru agreed; the camera was staring right at an old man in a white coat standing around. The greyscale image and the camera's supposedly high perch seemed to dramatize the bald spot on top of the man's head. "We need to wait until the coast is clear, then you need to hurry out in the direction you came in..."

"And get this box to sensei," 'Konohamaru' interrupted. "Got it." It only took a few seconds before the man walked off, presumably into one of the other rooms adjacent to the hallway.

"There is one more thing I must have you remember."

"What's that?"

"'Tiger index'."

"Tiger index?" Konohamaru was completely confused. "What the hell?"

"Let's just say its a code or, more precisely, a command. It will come in handy some time in the future. Don't ask why, just trust me."

"Oh... kay..." That explanation didn't help at all. Then again, he didn't have much time to think about it.

"Go now!"

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Six_ minutes later, back in the forest:_

"Konohamaru, where did you get this?" Shikamaru was noticeably surprised. The cardboard box was wide open, its contents -- a large amount of scrolls, maps, diagrams, and printed material – sprawled out on the forest floor.

"Er, well..." The clone was feeling nervous; he had no clue how to explain what had transpired. "I got some help." Shikamaru took a second to register what the clone had told him before his face twisted in a combination of annoyance and pity.

"You were caught so quickly. How troublesome." The clone's face fell. This really wasn't his day. "At least we have reason to believe your 'friend,' whoever he is, is on our side." Shikamaru got up. "Clone, have the group terminate all of the clones and stay put. We will be meeting with them in twenty minutes."

"Aye!" The clone put his hands together into a tiger seal, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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_Meanwhile..._

One of the Naruto clones was starting to feel lightheaded. Of the four clones, he was the only who didn't bother going inside. Like the real Naruto, he was certain that he would find something important near the cones tip, so he spent the last ten minutes steadily climbing the side of the cone. His pace was slowing, almost to a fast walk; his stamina was quickly depleting, even faster than he anticipated, and it took much more focus just to get his feet to stick, especially since he had to make sure to conserve as much chakra as possible. It didn't help that the air up here was getting noticeably thin. At least the weather, a perfectly blue, cloudless sky and the temperature warm but not exceedingly hot, at least for a desert, was uplifting his spirits.

_I can't even see the top, _this Naruto thought to himself. _I'll have to make do with a lower floor. This upcoming window should do nicely. _Spotting a small window, glassless like all of the others he came across, he put a last burst of energy and jogged to the window and jumped in. Once inside, he was in a hallway just like the one Konohamaru's clone was in earlier; walls and doors completely white, concrete floor below. He yawned a little before a thought came to his head.

_I should have looked before I leaped._ No one had spotted him, but that didn't prevent the clone from chastising himself for entering the window without determining the possibility of detection. He was about to take another step, but his actions were interrupted as he suddenly registered that another clone had been terminated. As he now had the experiences of the other clone filtered and figured out, he sighed to himself. _Already? _He knew that he had a minute or two left before this user and the rest of their team would get together for their meeting, so he should at least get to know this area in case he had to come back.

_Then again, I don't know how far up I am. So careless... _He shrugged his shoulders, but before he could go on he heard voices from a distance. He searched for a few seconds, fruitless in finding a good hiding spot, before he realized that the voices were coming from the floor above.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Something about the voice gave 'Naruto' the creeps. He wasn't sure if it was the high pitch or the fact that the voice reeked of cockiness, anger, and a shade of excessive confidence

"Er.. um..." said another voice. It was obvious that this second person was very nervous. _Was it the guy's boss? '_Naruto' thought to himself, slightly amused. _Probably spilled coffee on some paperwork or something. I'd be that nervous if I did something like that to Tsunade. _The clone quickly realized how wrong he was when he heard the first guy yell.

"What!?! You've never seen a disembodied head before? You people are so fuckin' annoying! Ugh... wait until my head gets attached to something useful; I'll make sure that you are the next sacrifice to Jashin. Wait... get back here, you shithead! What, afraid of me!?"

_What the hell was that all about? _the clone thought to himself as he turned around, climbed out the window, and started sliding down the exterior wall. After he felt he made sufficient distance between him and that floor, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Right before he did, though, he could make out a high-pitched, maniacal laugh. He couldn't tell if that belonged to the same person or not.

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"I apologize for interrupting our mission so abruptly," Shikamaru stated, as everyone else in the group stood near him. At Shikamaru's feet was the box that he had received earlier from Konohamaru's clone, the one that was apparently given to him by... someone... "However, we have quite a bit more information than we did before, and it is necessary that we adjust our strategy to maximize our chances of success.

"Konohamaru, Naruto, what was inside the box was a large amount of blueprints, schedules, and research data." Naruto and Konohamaru glanced at each other, completely unable to decipher the words Shikamaru had just said. Shikamaru, sensing the confusion, grew a little annoyed. _So troublesome. Guess I'll have to use simpler vocabulary. _"To put it simply, these papers describe many of the experiments and procedures that are going on inside of that cone. Udon, remember what I told you about my theory behind that black chakra Naruto noticed earlier?"

Udon scratched the tip of his finger against the side of his head, then replied, "You mean that it may be the result of combining multiple chakras?"

"Correct," Shikamaru confirmed. "These plans confirm what I originally suspected; that the structure is a laboratory dedicated to large-scale experimentation with chakra. That black chakra mentioned earlier is likely one of the results of one such experiment, and there is no way to determine, even with this data, the nature of any other tests they may be undergoing. Konohamaru, Naruto, did your clones notice anything else?

"Not really," Konohamaru started. "My first clone, the one that entered from the south, found those materials you gave me, and the other one got lost somewhere in the basement. Half the time he was trying not to bang his head against anything. He approached from the lowest window on the north part of that thing, but went to hide in a closet when a couple of guys approached and learned the hard way that it wasn't a closet; it was a laundry shoot" Both Naruto and Konohamaru grinned at their respective mental images of that incident. Granted, since Konohamaru actually has the experience, his mental image was far more accurate, but Naruto's was close enough for the purpose of amusement.

"As for mine," Naruto began. "One clone entered though the fourth window on the north side, but found himself in a room with a bunch of keyboards and TV's with letters on them. He didn't bother touching anything, since he didn't know if he'd get blown up or not, so he tried to search throughout the rest of the room, not really finding anything important."

"The other clone, however, climbed way up on the side of the cone, since he too felt the same thing I did. I don't know how exactly far up I went, but I'm certain that I was about 80 percent to the top. Anyway, I got in without a problem and that was when you gave us the order to stop."

"Naruto, didn't I tell you to stay near the cone's base, since security may be tighter up there?" Shikamaru didn't show so much as anger as annoyance. Then again, he didn't really expect anything else; Naruto wasn't as 'unpredictable' as people claim, at least according to Shikamaru.

"I know, but I did hear a few people talking..." Naruto stammered for a bit. "Apparently, one was a talking head."

"What, Naruto?" Konohamaru asked, shocked, disbelieving, and, above all, amused.

"Swore up a storm, too," Naruto went on. "Said if the other guy kept on looking at him, he would have been sacrificed to 'shojin' or something."

"Shojin?" Shikamaru inquired, concerned. He figured that Naruto had his words mixed up; it was pretty easy to tell when Naruto was using a term he wasn't comfortable using, and he tended to mix up his vocabulary on occasion. _Shojin? Ignore that term, what could the other things mean? Sacrifice? Who would threaten someone using that word? And since when did a decapitated head survive long enough to talk. The only time..._ Shikamaru found his answer right away.

"Naruto," Shikamaru turned to the yellow-haired kid. "When you said 'shojin', did you really mean... 'Jashin'?"

"Oh, yeah, that's the word." Naruto's face went slightly red with embarrassment as he grinned at the realization.

"Naruto, that was the Akatsuki you sensed." Naruto's grin diminished, as he frowned at the words he heard. "Hidan, former Akatsuki member, apparent immortal, and practitioner of the Jashin religion. He is also able to link his body to someone else's, so that whatever damage he takes, the other does as well; however, he can survive fatal attacks, while his victim cannot. His primary purpose is to please the idol of his religion through a complex ritual that involves slowly and painfully killing off his opponents using this bastardized version of voodoo; apparently, to believers of the religion, anything short of pain, destruction, and death is a sin. Also, he..." a slight pause. "...killed my sensei." The entire group was silenced.

"But I thought Asuma-san's killer was defeated by a Konoha shinobi," Konohamaru replied after a moment of tension.

"I was the one that apparently killed him off," Shikamaru stated. "However, I merely destroyed his body and buried his head in the ground. He was alive when I buried him, but I had anticipated that he would eventually die off. Apparently, I was incorrect; he managed to survive long enough for someone to recover him, although there is something I don't get."

"What's that?" It was Moegi's turn to question her captain.

"The ground we stand on contains residual chakra, the chakra that every living thing gives off constantly. Nothing is perfect at creating and using chakra, so some escapes the body and goes into the air, eventually landing on and soaking into the ground. Because of this, it is difficult, if not impossible, to sense the chakra of anything underground, even with senses such as yours, Naruto."

"Because any chakra that something underground gives off is masked by this 'residual chakra' thing," Naruto interrupted. "And I know that Neji's byakugan and Kakashi-sensei's sharingan can't look through the ground either, so that means that there would have been no way that someone would have come across the area and found him unless... unless someone had known where he was and looked for him."

"Exactly!" Shikamaru, in a lapse of mental concentration, gave a small hint of excitement at Naruto's brief show of actual intelligence. Upon realizing his mistake, he quelled his emotions and his voice again went flat. "Moving on, there is the other thing that was in that box."

"Other...thing?" Naruto asked.

"There were a pile of blueprints on the bottom of the box. These blueprints contain precise plans for every floor in the entire structure. I'll use whatever I can get from them to determine our next course of action. Until then, we will wait for the other team to arrive, then regress back into the forest about five kilometers. Considering the size of the building, a plan will not be derived until oh-eight hundred hours tomorrow morning. Oh, and speaking of 'other team'..."

The group turned to all face the interior of the forest. They could hear the sound of leaves rustling in the distance, and it took only three or four seconds until the medical team, lead by Shizune, dropped from the forest canopy and stopped right next to Shikamaru's group.

"Shikamaru, Naruto, Moegi, Udon, Konohamaru." Shizune, her clothes neat but slightly grass-stained (or is it leaf-stained?), acknowledged and greeted each of the team members with a slight bow of her head. "You know why we are here."

"Of course," Shikamaru asked. Shizune's introduction was a welcome contrast to the usual "Shikamaru! Report!" command the Chuunin always seems to get. "There are no injuries to report; save for some fatigue, we are in good shape. Since we have some information on our target, the mission is on hiatus until tomorrow."

"Awww..." one of the medics pouted. "And I wanted to see some action, too!" Her purple mini skirt, as well as the exposed skin, also had small streaks of green.

"Ino," Shikamaru replied. "This is a mission, not a field trip." _Women..._

"Naruto," Sakura walked over to her old teammate. "How are you feeling. I heard you've been feeling kind of tired lately."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. "It's been getting a little worse, too."

"You can explain everything later," Shikamaru interrupted. "We need to get out of here. If we stay here overnight, we risk getting detected."

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_Two hours later..._

"I don't see anything wrong with you," Shizune admitted. Naruto was sitting upright, legs crossed, while Shizune examined him, placing her hand, glowing with a steady flow of chakra, over various points of Naruto's body. It is a technique that many medical ninja know, but few have to use; injecting a steady stream of chakra at various points on the body and seeing how the patient's chakra systems react. It is a diagnostic technique effective in determining various ailments relating to the chakra circulatory system. "It appears that you are simply low on chakra. We'll need to do some other tests."

"Aw, man..." Naruto sighed as Shizune got to her feet and walked towards Shikamaru. Then an idea came to his head. Not a bright idea, but an idea nonetheless. He turned to Sakura, who was sitting with the rest of the group with her back towards Naruto. "Hey, Sakura, maybe you can feel me over, see if there's anything wrong with me." Naruto knew he said the wrong thing when he saw Sakura stiffen up. _She's angry. _Naruto realized he was wrong when Sakura stood up and faced Naruto. Her face proved that she was not angry.

She was pissed.

"NARUTOOOO!!!!" She stamped her feet as she marched towards Naruto. Naruto had only a few seconds to react, an opportunity that he didn't use to his advantage, before Sakura planted the top of her foot into Naruto's abdomen, sending him flying about ten meters before crashing into the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Sakura!" A voice yelled from behind Sakura. Naruto, dazed, winded, and barely conscious, was able to make out the source of the voice as Shizune. "We are here to help them, not kill them!"

"You heard what the idiot said," Sakura, quiet but still brimming with ferocity, replied. "Besides, he's probably out cold. He could use the rest anyway!"

"Oooh..." Naruto was cradling his abdomen with both arms, still trying to block out the pain from that last blow. _I really need to quit acting like an idiot in front of Sakura. I'll get myself killed._

_**And yet you keep acting like an idiot, brat.**_

__Naruto inhaled sharply. He recognized that voice, inhumanly deep, dark, and disturbing, although he hadn't heard it in months.

_Kyuubi, since when did I tell you that you could talk?! _Naruto closed his eyes, an easy fact considering how woozy he felt. It took a few moments before he found himself in an all-too-familiar of a place; a dark sewer, lined with concrete blocks and lit with far too few hanging lights. In front of him was a gigantic iron-bar doorway, sealed shut with a single paper seal. Naruto was in the very depths of his mind, and behind that door lay the demon that was sealed inside of him: the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine-tailed demon fox that had claimed many villages and lives in the last few decades alone.

_**I see you are in a fine mood today. **_The demon slowly appeared on the other side of the cage. To Naruto, the fox was a hundred meters tall, with orange fur covering every part of its body, save for a streak of black that appeared as a mask above the fox's snout, wrapping around the eyes and extending into the interior of the fox's long ears. Each of its pupils was a black slit bordered by a large blood-red iris. Several of the fox's massive tails were visible, some flailing behind the fox while others were waving in front of it, brushing against the iron bar doors that kept the monster at bay.

_Stupid fox, _Naruto yelled, _you never come barging into my thoughts just to talk. What do you want? And if you ask for anything, the answer is no._

_**Do not be so hasty, boy, **_the monster replied. The fox made no effort to hide its fangs. Although most would have cowered at the sight, Naruto, now long used to the beast's presence, did not flinch. The only thing that bothered Naruto, a curious thought that annoyed the monster to no end, was how that fox, after it has eaten centuries of who-knows-what, has managed to keep his teeth surprisingly white. _**Are you not curious as to why you've been so weak lately?**_

___So it was you! _Naruto yelled. _You keep doing that and I'll make sure to make your life a living hell! _The kyuubi, upon hearing this, sat idly for a moment, before he began to laugh.

_**Like you could do that, kid. **_Naruto heard a low growl._** Anyway, I do not give a rat's ass how weak you are, as long as you are still alive.**_

___So, that means..._

_**Do not blame me for every little thing that seems to happen to you, brat.**_

___Shut up! _Naruto turned around, ready to exit this place and reenter the real world, when he remembered something. _But why then did you call me, fox?_

_**Because you are an idiot, boy. Cannot even act rationally for more than two seconds.**_

___Whatever. I'm out of here._

_**And, even now, you manage to prove me correct. **_Naruto turned around, wanting to get one last word in before he left. But the fox continued. _**Kid, your chakra is not the only one that is getting repressed.**_

___I'm listening. _Naruto stood still, his arms crossed in front of him. He was curious, but knew better than to fully trust anything the demon told him.

_**My chakra has been weakening as well. Not nearly to the extent that yours is, but enough so that I can assure you what is happening to you is no illness. Something outside is repressing it, and I am certain it is that... 'thing'... that your group has been investigating, that is causing it.**_

___What are you trying to do, Kyuubi? _Naruto had enough. _That thing has been up for months; I've only been tired for the last three or four weeks._

_**Although the exterior was completely built, **_the Kyuubi explained, _**does not mean that whatever is inside of it was functioning. **_For something so evil, the monster had a nearly inhuman amount of patience.

___Kinda like how a store, even after it has been built, can't open until it gets merchandise?_

_**Sometimes, kid, you are not as dimwitted as you make out to be.**_ The monster banged one of its tails against the bars of the cage, and laughed as Naruto, startled by the noise, nearly lost his balance. Of course, Naruto didn't find this the least bit amusing.

_Why the hell should I trust you? Don't you hate me or something? _Naruto was skeptical of the fox. Then again, who wouldn't be skeptical of an evil, nine-tailed demon fox who had claimed the lives of hundreds of shinobi?

_**Simple, kid. You die, I die. That is that. Do not worry, though; I still hate you and every one of your pathetic friends. **_The monster eyes narrowed, and, if that were possible, his muzzle showed an evil grin. _**I will get out of this forsaken place, and the first thing I will do is kill you, if you are not dead already, and barbecue you. I have gone without eating for sixteen years, and it would be fitting that my first meal in recent times is my former jailer.**_

__"Naruto." The yellow-haired shinobi, his mind now forced to join the world of the living, had just opened his eyes to see Konohamaru standing in front of him. "You really got clobbered there. You were out for fifteen minutes!"

"Yeah!" Udon, apparently standing behind Naruto, replied. "You managed to get up, but then you just keeled over. I almost thought you were dead!"

"I'm fine!" Naruto slowly got up, still somewhat dizzy from the blow, and managed to lean against a tree. He walked, barely keeping his balance, towards the rest of the group.

_**I take that last part back kid. I hope you survive if I do escape. That way, I can feel you helplessly squirm in vain as I swallow you, whole and alive, before you die a slow, painful death inside the very being that has been trapped in you for a decade and a half.**_

___Freak._

_**I will take that as a compliment, kid.**_


	6. Don't Forget to Carry the One

_Schedule Log Entry: 26 May, year 78_

_Laboratory has been fully constructed, and is now stationed in the westernmost extension of the desert... Electricity and full internal security are on track to be active by the end of the month, with the following weeks dedicated to booting up the computers and their corresponding networks..._

_6 June, year 78_

_Main computer is shut down due to hardware failure, likely a surge caused by the recent short in the power grid. Data integrity is not endangered, but this forces a delay in our schedule... Auxilliary terminals are still active, but primary functionality will not be returned for another day._

_17 June, year 78_

_... as simulations on all terminals, central servers, and network controllers are commencing. All precaution must be taken to prevent security risks..._

_5 July, year 78_

_All defense measures are nearing full capacity, but will not be active until suppression measures are present. Estimated units nearing five hundred..._

_20 July, year 78_

_Temperance Generator has taken minor internal damage during transit. Repair expected to take three days, delaying its full activation until after the end of the month._

_25 July, year 78_

_...Temperance Generator is undergoing initial warm-up, on schedule for full activation on 2 August..._

_1 August, year 78_

_...One defense unit has been activated to test the functionality of the Temperance Generator. The test unit... is being rendered powerless, a complete success, although the Generator is only running at two-percent capacity..._

_2 August, year 78_

_Temperance Generator is fully on-line. All defense units are now fully controlled and ready for combat. Effective range of full suppression is 50 kilometers, with range for partial but sufficient suppression extending past 600 kilometers..._

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"This is too confusing!" Naruto was sitting with his back to a freshly built fire, showing frustration at a loose-leaf booklet that was on his lap. After skimming through the contents of the book, he was frustrated. "Temperance Generator," "terminal," "server," "network controller"; these were terms that were well out of Naruto's understanding. The only thing he got out of the entire thing was that the cone had shown up at the end of May, and that this "generator" thing was set up in August. Neither of which seemed to have any correlation with anything.

_So that thing has been up since late May, and, since today is... today is... _Naruto thought for a minute, then sighed. _Guess I've been training in my Senjutsu so long that I have completely forgot what day of the year it is. Then again, I never care anyway. _He turned to one of his teammates. "Konohamaru, do you remember what date it is today?"

"Of course!" Konohamaru proclaimed. He was sitting on the other side of the campfire, bathing in the warmth. "It is thirteen days before the start of the second Chuunin exam of the year! Which, since the exam occurs on September 10th, means..." Konohamaru took a minute; he was never good at math. "That means today is August 30th."

"August 28th," Udon interrupted. Both he and Moegi were sitting on each side of Konohamaru, silent until just now. "Konohamaru, you really need to work on your math skills."

"Shut up!" Konohamaru yelled in defiance. Udon and Moegi leaned away from Konohamaru, shying away from the energetic kid. Naruto had to grin at those three; sometimes, they behaved less like teammates and more like siblings. After a moment of musing, he went back to the notebook in front of him.

_That would make it just over three months. That lines up with everything I've heard from those ANBU and from Shikamaru. I'd tell Shikamaru about this but, knowing him, he has already read this entire thing and understands it far better than I do._

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura had just appeared from the forest canopy and stood beside Naruto, who was still sitting with the book in his hands. She, along with Ino, had been fishing at a nearby creek, so she was carrying a few wooden spears. Some had small traces of blood, signifying that their trip was successful, but apparently the fish were left with Ino, who had yet to return. "Are you feeling better?"

"Sort of," Naruto sighed. "I want to rest, but there is something I need to talk with you and Shikamaru. It's something I don't want Konohamaru and the others to hear."

"All right," Sakura turned to the three young kids. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon. Ino and Shizune will be coming with our meal for tonight; I need you three to wait for her and help them prepare. Shikamaru, Naruto, and I have something we need to discuss." Shikamaru, who had been standing on a branch above the fire, didn't show a hint of emotion when he jumped down and walked behind Naruto and Sakura and deeper into the forest. The two others followed just as they heard the rest of the medic team drop next to the fire, to the cheers of Konohamaru and gang.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked once they had made sufficient distance between them and the base.

"I, er..." Naruto had difficulty coming up with words. This was a sensitive topic, even though both of the others were quite understanding. He started, instead, on a relevant, but different topic. "Shikamaru, I told you that one of my clones had climbed up the side of the cone."

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied, tired and somewhat apathetic to the conversation. "You broke the rules and nearly got detected."

"Okay..." Naruto was off to a bad start. "My clone was actually attempting to climb clear to the peek and try to find something there, but it tired out too fast and had to settle on a lower floor, instead. I knew that our strength wasn't 100%, and that the air is thinner up there, but it was still kind of weird."

"You probably aren't as fit as you were a few weeks ago," Sakura interjected. "Since that condition set in, you haven't exercised much at all."

"No, it isn't that," Naruto went on. "The funny thing is, the clone didn't feel tired until right before nearing that floor, then it set in. It wasn't nearly as bad as when I felt it that one day, when my stamina gave up the first time, but it seemed similar. I'm starting to think that that black thing that we are trying to get into has something to do with it. And I'm not the only one."

"Not the only one?" Shikamaru asked. He had a suspicion where this was going, and he didn't like it at all.

"The Kyuubi." Sakura's eyes widen with a bit of surprise. In direct contrast, Shikamaru's eyes closed as he gave a heavy sigh; he hated being right. "Apparently, its chakra's running low as well."

"When did the Kyuubi talk to you?" Sakura asked. "I thought you were suppressing it." Rather than get a response from Naruto, she instead got her answer from Shikamaru.

"Suppressing the Kyuubi's presence requires strong mental will, will that wavers whenever the mind is temporarily weakened, such as when it nearly loses consciousness. This probably happened when you practically knocked Naruto's lungs out earlier." Sakura turned to Naruto for confirmation, which she got when Naruto chuckled sheepishly. The thought that she, or at least her foot, had practically summoned the Kyuubi to Naruto's mind was a bit overwhelming, as her faced started to turn red and her eyes turned away from the group.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura," Naruto assured, bearing a wide, toothy grin. "It's not like it hurt anybody anyway." It wasn't much assurance to Sakura, but it was enough for some of the color on her face to fade back to normal. "Besides, don't we need to eat and rest tonight anyway?"

"Agreed," Shikamaru replied. "Given the information you gave me, I should be done with our plans by the time you guys get up."

"But don't you need to rest, too?" Sakura, perfectly playing the part of medic-nin, was concerned about Shikamaru's mental health. Even shadow users need sleep.

"I'll be fine," Shikamaru stated. "Once I'm done with our planning, I'll probably nod off a few times during the day, but I shouldn't need as much rest since I have not used any techniques since before we got here. Besides, with this much going on, I don't think I'd sleep well anyway." Sakura sighed, her argument utterly defeated.

"Dinner time!" Shizune's enthusiastic voice rang through the forest. Thankfully, they were alone in the forest; otherwise, their location would have been easily detected. Konohamaru, who had been sitting by the fire, had to make some attempt to stifle his laughter before he had the composure to speak.

"So much for stealth."

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_The following morning_

All of the group, including the three medic-nins, were standing around the ashy, smoldering remains of the campfire. The sun was low enough so that it shown through the trunks of the trees, escaping the shield of the forest canopy. Everyone, save for Shikamaru, had slept fairly well that night.

"According to the documentation that I have looked over," Shikamaru started, "The majority of the cone is one large, hollow interior. In the interior, there is a pillar-like structure that extends through the length of the cone along its central axis; in addition to supporting the cone, this structure also houses what is apparently called the Temperance Generator."

"Temperance Generator?" Naruto asked. "I saw that in the schedule notebook I was looking over last night."

"Correct, Naruto," Shikamaru continued. "The only thing that I have been able to derive about it is that it is not the power generator for the structure; that lies underground.

"So that's why it was so hot when I fell down that laundry shoot," Konohamaru asked. Shikamaru nodded and went on with his explanation.

"Lining the outside of the cone are two hundred sixteen floors, with heights varying from five to twenty meters apiece. Each floor contains rooms with varying purposes, including living quarters, entertainment rooms, offices, and several large-scale laboratories. Although we estimate that only about two thousand people live and operate in there, there is easily room in the living quarters alone to house approximately three hundred thousand people. Including all other rooms, this number jumps to about fifty million."

"Fifty...million...?" Ino was having difficulty fathoming such a large number of people; the biggest village in the great shinobi nations housed only about nine hundred thousand.

"Yeah," Shikamaru continued. "Yet, the only thing that I can think of to justify the sheer size of the cone would be the contraption that is contained inside of that pillar."

"The Temperance Generator," Sakura interjected.

"Yes," Shikamaru went on. "The room dedicated to this generator makes up nearly the entire height of that pillar, save only for about ten meters at the cone's base. There is a separate room at the base of the pillar, but there is no way to determine if anything is in it, and it would be impossible for anyone to get to that room undetected, since the area around the pillar is so open."

"So we have to find some other way to see what's in it?" Udon, sounding sleepy in spite of being well rested, inquired. He was greeted with a nod.

"If there is such a way available. Our primary objectives, however, are still to determine whether or not this structure warrants a full investigation. Although Hidan's appearance is alarming, he is mostly harmless without a functioning body. The best course of action is to investigate the generator, since the entire structure seems to be built around it. Naruto."

"Aye," Naruto replied. He was listening.

"You will create a single clone, rather than two like before. He will climb the cone starting at the northernmost point on the base, and climb to floor one-hundred and sixty. Given the information that you have supplied me, this should be within six floors of where you entered previously. You are to first confirm Hidan's presence and ascertain if, indeed, he is any threat. If you cannot find him within one hour, or if the objective is successful, you are to then attempt to penetrate the archive room; this should be one of the rooms nearest where you initially entered the building. You are to spend the rest of your time, if you manage to get in, to investigate any records that you find there."

"Sounds boring to me..." Naruto sighed. Shikamaru ignored him.

"Konohamaru, you are to create two clones as usual. The structure doesn't taper to a perfect point at the top; instead, there is a shelf that is roughly 100 meters in diameter. One of your clones, after assessing any security that may exist, will climb to this top shelf. The room where the temperance generator is being held is accessible through an access panel on the roof, although you'll have to use your chakra since, save for the girders supporting the roof, there are not many good footholds. I'm assuming that Ebisu has trained you in the appropriate techniques."

"You mean where we have to climb a tree without using our hands?" Moegi declared. "Of course! Konohamaru caught on the fastest, but we can all do that. We can even walk on water, too!"

"Good." Shikamaru took a deep breath, trying to stifle a yawn. "Your second clone will also approach the cone from the north, like Naruto's, but will instead enter in floor one-forty-eight, twelve floors lower. Most of the laboratories are stationed between floors one-forty and one-fifty; this clone will investigate any experiments that may be underway. Be as vigilant for details as possible; we not only want to know what they are experimenting with, but why they are doing it, if possible."

"Aye!" Konohamaru nodded in agreement.

"All right." Shikamaru reached behind him, to a few pieces of paper that were set on the forest floor. "These are the relevant floor maps that you will need. Naruto, floors one-sixty through one-seventy. Konohamaru, floors one-fifty through one-fifty-nine, plus the top shelf and the upper-most section of the generator room. You have thirty minutes to familiarize yourselves with the maps before deploying your clones, and you will continue to study them after the clones are on their way. Understood?"

"Aye!" Both Naruto and Konohamaru tried to put on grins as they grabbed the papers, but they were both thinking the exact same, depressing thought.

_Great... Now I have to study..._

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_About fifty minutes later..._

Konohamaru, or more specifically, one of his clones, had stopped right before the lip of the top shelf of the cone. He laid against the exterior wall, his head just below the edge. He flexed the tips of his feet so that this toes laid flat against the wall, allowing him to use a steady stream of chakra to aid his foothold and prevent him from sliding down, emanating a nearly inaudible hum in the process. He was attempting to stay as silent as possible, even making painstaking effort to shallow out his breath, as he listened for any signs of life. He stayed there as long as his patience would allow, but, save for a cool breeze (it was a lot cooler up here at this altitude than in the desert; today was a much hotter day than yesterday at ground level, even this early in the morning), he heard nothing. Satisfied that there was no known security here, he pushed himself up and onto the roof.

The top of the cone, well, was not outstanding in anyway. It was perfectly flat, save for a few steel pipes that stuck a foot or two above the gray concrete, but otherwise it was completely barren. In the center, about fifty meters from his position, there was a square steel panel about a meter across. _That must be the entrance! '_Konohamaru' walked slowly to the panel, using the time to recuperate from the climb and get used to the somewhat thinner air. Taking a deep breath, he reached down to grab the lone handle on one side of the panel, hoping to lift it. Rather than pull, however, he was forced to immediately let go; exposure to the sun, even for only a few hours, had made it far too hot to grab.

"Owww..." After a few minutes taking turns staring at the panel and his nearly burned hand, he finally got an idea. He reached for the base of his neck and pulled off the blue scarf that hung there. Making sure not to touch the metal handle with his bare hands, he diligently pushed one end of the scarf through the handle. After taking a short moment to pump himself up, he grabbed each end of the scarf with his hands and pulled as hard as he could. The panel, slightly lighter than the clone had anticipated, swung open, revealing a slightly smaller, but still square opening underneath it. He stared at the hole for a moment before realizing that the panel did not close on him; it stayed open, about 30 degrees short of vertical, supported by two black hydraulic supports, and was shielding the hole from the sun's light.

_All right, here I go. _He reached down and pulled a kunai from inside the waistband of his pants. Once he establish a firm grip on the weapon, he jumped into the hole, falling about three meters until he landed on a steel girder. The entire roof structure was supported by a maze of these supports; getting down would have been tricky, even if there was adequate light; save for the still-open hole above him, the only light that was reaching the clone was ambient light from below.

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_Well, here I am... _Naruto's sole clone, upon reaching his floor (hopefully), thought ahead a little bit more than he did before and hovered outside his window for a short period before jumping in. He was glad that his user had put in quite a bit more chakra into him than before; his stamina started to wane again as he got near the top, but this time, at least, he still had enough energy to fight, defend himself, and one other thing. That 'other thing' would definitely help him on this trip, but he wouldn't be able to do it until he saw what he needed.

He was also glad that the hallway he landed in, for some reason, was completely dark, save for the light coming in at each end of the hallway, coming from outside through the window and coming in from the center of the cone. He mulled over why they hadn't bothered to turn out the light, not realizing that one of the bulbs had burned out, taking the hallway out with it. Apparently, the person who designed this place didn't know the merits of parallel electrical circuits. 'Naruto', however, didn't have much time to think about this, as his opportunity had come. He ran quietly towards the center of the cone, stopping just shy of where the lighting was intense enough to expose him, laid on his stomach, and watched.

"Another day, another project," said a young man, presumable to himself. He was kind of tall and thin, standing at roughly 185 centimeters (six foot three inches), his dirty-blonde hair, parted down the middle, short, flat, but somewhat unkempt. His glasses, although visible, were difficult to make out due to the glare reflecting off of them. A side view was never very good for looking at someone's face, anyway. The Naruto clone didn't care; he was much more interested in the clothing. Fortunately, for him, there wasn't much to it; a white lab coat, black pants, and black leather shoes. While he had only been in view for a few seconds, walking leisurely around the cone, 'Naruto' had seen enough to make his next move. The clone quickly got up, retreated back into the darkest section of the hallway, then...

"**Henge no Jutsu**." **(Transformation Technique)**

A puff of smoke appeared in his section of the hallway (well, would have appeared except that the darkness of the hall would prevent anyone from seeing it) as the technique took place. After a few seconds, 'Naruto' walked towards the center of the hall, hoping that his jutsu worked. Much to his delight, when he was finally visible, he looked down to see that his upper body was covered in a coat similar to the one he saw, and that he could no longer see his toes through the black leather that now covered his feet. He didn't bother transforming anything else on his body, though; the black legs of his jumpsuit looked the part already, and no one would recognize his face. Well, hopefully. He was able to walk into the middle room of the cone, awe-inspired by the diameter of the building even this far up, when...

"Hey, you're the rookie they just hired!" 'Naruto' jumped and looked to his side, finding that he was being addressed by the man he had seen just seconds prior. The man had a goofy grin on his face, not nearly as wide as what Naruto was capable of, but still goofy. His lanky face looked like it strained in contorting to match said grin. This guy's appearance fit the role of "nerd," a term Naruto was familiar with even though so few of them actually appeared in Konoha. And what few "nerds," or people others called nerds, that he had seen, he rarely liked. They always got on his nerves.

"What are you..." 'Naruto' could make heads or tails of the situation. Did he look like some, even with his 'unique' facial characteristics? And on top of that, the person had just gotten hired; no one, or at least almost no one, would even be able to tell him from the real guy in terms of personality. After a few seconds, 'Naruto' made up his mind. "Yeah... er... can you tell me where to go? I'm kinda lost..."

"Of course!" The man walked towards 'Naruto', making the clone very uneasy. Fortunately for him, the man stopped about ten feet away. "You are on the one-hundredth sixty-first floor, see?" The man pointed to a sign on the wall, and Naruto turned his eyes. On the sign, engraved in bold, easy to read letters, ready 'floor 161'. "Since you work in records, Sosuke, the personnel office that you need to go to is two floors up. The stairs are right over there."

"Um... thanks?" 'Naruto' was a little confused. How can things be going so well for him? Something seemed... odd...

"No problem, Minato-san." The man turned and walked away, aiming for the next hallway and turning into it.

_Minato Sosuke,_ 'Naruto' thought, taking careful notice of the name as he climbed up the stairwell, looking for a sign reading "floor 163." When he found said sign, he pushed open a nearby door and found himself back in the center room, two floors up from where we was earlier. He looked around, trying to find someone to ask for directions, but he was fruitless. Fortunately, towards the east, he managed to spot another sign on the wall: "PERSONNEL OFFICE", in big black lettering, painted on the wall next to a large open entryway. That was his destination.

"Minato Sosuke." The clone was playing his part well; no one, including the fifty-something woman that was standing on the other side of the black slate counter, suspected that he was a shinobi. 'Naruto' was grinning on the inside, although he was able to keep an apathetic appearance on the outside as he watched the young woman pillage through something underneath the counter. After a moment, she stood erect and handed Naruto a small metal key.

"The post office boxes are down the hall," the woman explained. "You will find all your materials; identity card, schedule, and the key to your living quarters, among other things, in your post box. You will find the number of your box on the key I just gave you. Have a nice day." She managed a smile, although it was easy to tell that she had been at this job for FAR too long.

"You, too." 'Naruto' replied. This was too easy. Way too easy.

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_I hope Naruto is having a better time than I am... _The Konohamaru clone that was assigned to the floors directly below Uzumaki's was wondering as he wandered the halls, eyeing the laboratories that he was coming across. He, like the Naruto clone, had miscounted and entered the wrong floor, but was even further off than his counterpart had been; he arrived a good ten stories below his destination; on one floor, he got carried away with carrying the one to the tens places one too many times. He was never good at math. Not that he cared for it anyway...

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_A young Konohamaru, at a ripe nine years of age, had better things to do. He wanted to play with friends, he wanted to eat; heck, he'd even settle for doing homework. Anything better than helping is grandfather at the office. Even if his grandfather was the Hokage. Scratch that... ESPECIALLY since his grandfather was the Hokage._

_"Grandson, I've been hearing from your teachers that you haven't been doing so well." Sarutobi Hiruzen mentioned while sorting through a large pile of papers. Konohamaru didn't like where this conversation was going._

_"It's no big deal," Konohamaru replied. He was standing beside the Hokage's desk, leaning against the wall, observing the papers as the old man picked each one up, looked over it, and put it in one of five piles. Hiruzen was sorting through missions and dividing them up according to their difficulty. "It's only math."_

_"No big deal?" Konohamaru looked up, somewhat puzzled at the sly grin that had taken the old man's face. "Twenty years ago..." Konohamaru rolled his eyes. He hated listening to ancient history._

_"Listen to me, kid. Twenty years ago, violence had broken out in one of the business districts in the north section of our village. Apparently, one group had received more than his fair share of funds to start up his business, and other entrepreneurs got very upset about it. I was able to intervene, but not before several people got seriously injured and sent to the infirmary. No deaths occurred, but it was enough for me to check over our financial records. It didn't take long to find out that, alas, I was the cause of everything."_

_"WHAT? YOU?" Konohamaru was slightly shocked, but he liked to do this for dramatic effect. He was a natural-born actor._

_"Yep," Hiruzen stated slowly, waiting for the perfect moment to get to his punchline. His grinned widened in anticipation. "Two dozen people got serious injured because when I added up the totals, I forgot to carry the one."_

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'Konohamaru' snickered for a bit. Those memories always came at the most inopportune time, but at least this one was amusing, especially considering that he had just made a similar mistake that is grandfather did so long ago. Since then, he had definitely improved his math skills – heck, he even remembered is multiplication tables – but he still made mistakes. At least he didn't make one mistake; he also had used the henge no jutsu and was now wearing a black lab coat and leather shoes. Only difference was that his pants, instead of being perfectly black, were a dark gray. He never did like black, even if his sensei wore it constantly.

Although he couldn't quite make out what the experiments were doing; most of the men working in the rooms were either walking around the room, carrying small slides or vials, or looking through microscopes. The only way he was going to figure out what was going on to figure out exactly what they were doing was to get into those labs. But he had thought better than to barge right into these labs; he had no identification. He didn't know any secret passwords, Heck, he had no useful knowledge of science, save for some physics, and he only learned that through his quest to make sure his sexy technique contained the right amount of bounciness...

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'Naruto', after searching through the rows upon rows of small metal doors that lined the walls of the post office, he finally found his; the box marked M-94. He inserted the key into the small keyhole, turned it, and swung the door away. Behind the door, there were lines of paper, topped by a single plastic card similar in size to the ones Tsunade liked to gamble with, and a small box. He reached into the mailbox for the box first, opening it to find a dozen small, foil-wrapped candies inside of it. At least, he thought they were candies. He closed the box, grabbed the papers and card with this other hand, and replaced the box back to it's old position. His eyes glanced at the ID card, looking over the data that was presented on it:

ID: MS5366

NAME: MINATO SOSUKE

DATE OF BIRTH: 20 SEPT, YEAR 62

PLACE OF ORIGIN: STAR VILLAGE

DEPARTMENT: RECORDS

QUARTERS: 46 WEST, FLOOR 167.

He looked at the picture on the ID, and his eyes widened. No wonder the other people kept calling him that name, Sosuke. The picture didn't just look like it; it might as well have been him. The whisker marks on his cheeks, the spiky hair, the impossibly blue eyes, even the cheesy grin; they were all there. The only way this made sense is if he had a long lost twin or something. Even then, though, the whisker marks wouldn't be there; that was only because of his 'tenant'. That left only one other possibility; that someone transformed into him and get this identification using his image.

_What the hell? _the clone thought to himself, before noticing a small metal clamp among the papers. Quickly figuring out the purpose of the clamp, he attached it to the ID card and used it to clamp the ID card to the pocket on the front of his jacket, near the chest. Once that was finished, a feat since he only had one hand to do everything as his other hand held onto the papers, he sorted through the rest of the documents. A weekly schedule, a directory of stores and cafeterias near his floor, and, lastly, a small envelope. He looked at the envelope and felt his stomach turn. He was fighting to prevent bile from reaching into his throat as he noticed who the envelope was addressed to.

It wasn't addressed to Minato Sosuke.

The recipient was Uzumaki Naruto.

__Taking a deep breath, the clone ripped open the envelope, and read the letter than was inside.

_Uzumaki Naruto._

_I'll keep this letter short, since you don't have much time. As you can guess, I faked your identity and used it to give you fake identification. I won't delve into the details how; let's just say that I have quite a few resources available that the others here don't._

_The box that you received contains medicine that all workers here are required to take. I personally helped develop it; the Temperance Generator produces side effects in those who are close to it for extended periods, and this medicine counteracts those effects. You will find that, within a few minutes, your energy level will improve. Use the added energy to create another clone and send the spare ID card included in this envelope; in case more clones need to be created, at least they will have identification. You will need it; most of the floors above one-sixty are strictly secured, a recent change in procedures that wasn't reflected in those documents you received. The lower floors are much more relaxed in terms of security, and getting detected in the center room means trouble, regardless of ID, so your comrade won't have much use for ID cards._

_Oh, and Hidan is situated on floor 165, in the westernmost hall of the cone, first door on your right._

_Hayashi_

_P.S. I bet you are wondering why things are going so smoothly so far. You'll see... You'll see..._

**'**Naruto' was ecstatic; thanks to their stealthy partner, he had a reasonable idea where Hidan was situated. Remembering what he just read, he reached into the envelope; true to the writer's word, taped to the side of the envelope was another plastic card and its clamp, which the clone took and placed inside the coat's chest pocket, behind the ID already clamped there. He didn't trust the writer, but he was sure that he'd find something at his new destination. Whether it was Hidan, Hayashi, or simply a trap, he was going to find something. He dedicated the room number to memory, then, after setting everything else down on the floor near him, tore up the letter and its envelope to as many shreds as possible before throwing it into a nearby waste receptacle. Once he was done, he grabbed the box of supposed-to-be medicine, retrieved one of the tin-foil balls that rested inside of it, and, after setting the box in the bottom-left pocket of his jacket, unwrapped the tinfoil.

It looked exactly like a ball of milk chocolate. Taking another deep breath, he popped the thing in his mouth and chewed. To his surprise, it tasted like chocolate too.

"They don't do a bad job with that stuff," he overheard someone say. Another male worker was sorting through the contents of his post office box, not too far from where the clone stood. "It tastes just like chocolate, but it really gets the job done. You'll feel like gold by the time you reach your station."

"OK..." the clone asked. He was getting used to this new role, but it still seemed a little awkward. "...thanks..." Wanting to avoid further conversation, the clone set all of the papers that were at his feat back into the mailbox, closed it, removed the key, and walked out. His mission was going well; he needed to take advantage of that, and do so now. But first he needed to find a place to create a clone without being spotted, and the only place he could think of that would be suitable was that same hallway he entered in, assuming that someone hadn't fixed the light.

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"Of course you can come in."

'Konohamaru' was a bit surprised. Although his more logical half, assuming he had one, was telling him that trying to infiltrate the lab rooms was almost suicide, his more dominant half, which consisted partly of curiosity, got the better of him and he neared one of the labs, one occupied by four people no less. Why he didn't go for the other occupied labs, each consisting of one or two scientists at the most, was beyond him. What was even stranger was the conversation that resulted when he tried sneaking into the door. A bespectacled woman, her slender appearance only partly masked by the lab coat she was wearing, had greeted the boy at the door, a smile on her face. Her dark red hair flowed down to her shoulders. Her attire was like everyone else's; black and white, except her white lab coat looked a little more... snug... than it should have been.

"Don't worry if you lost your ID," said a man at a microscope. His skin was noticeably darker than the others he had seen so far, similar in color to people in Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds. He had black hair that was tied up into corn rows. He was well built for his short stature, having a physique becoming of a shinobi. Even his attire, which was much more loose fitting, couldn't hide that build. "No one cares around here. Just don't try it on the higher floors. The security up there can be such a pain in the ass."

"Language!" chastised another woman. She was leaning in the corner, doing absolutely nothing productive. Her clothes were similar in appearance to the other womans, except this one deliberately kept the collar of the jacket folded up, hiding her mouth. Her skin was darker than the other womans, but it looked more like a full tan than anything else. Her hair was completely black and pulled into a ponytail in the back.

"Careful," said the last scientist, a man whose stature looked like Chouji; well, the way Chouji looked a few years ago, only 40 centimeters taller and without any hair to speak of, instead replaced by a comical green and white striped fedora that was too small for his head to fit into. He had a grin on his face. "Are you sure you don't want to check his ID?" His voice softened, almost to a whisper. His grin never left; in fact, it seemed to widen. "He might be an outsider." 'Konohamaru' felt his face redden.

_Damn... Here we go again..._

"Pppht," the first woman raspberried. "I hope that he is an outsider."

"Err..." 'Konohamaru' train of thought completely derailed. The further he was getting into this mess, the weirder things were getting. They definitely didn't prepare him for this in the ninja academy. If he was getting out of this mission alive, with his sanity intact no less, this was a mission to remember. The first woman turned to him.

"Working here is a bitch. We'd leave, but we have no where to go. Most of our villages have been destroyed, save for Kiro over there." The man at the microscope raised his hand, signaling his presence. The woman continued. "But while his village exists, his family was wiped out."

"Please don't remind me." Kiro replied, his voice echoing depression. He then muttered, "and I'm not the only one who needs to watch his language..."

"Sorry," the woman replied. "Continuing on, the faster word gets out of the real intent of this place, the sooner we get a chance to break out of this place. The sooner people realize the true purpose of this place, the more quickly this place gets shut down for good."

"Is it..." 'Konohamaru' stuttered. The academy didn't prepare him for this at ALL. "...really that bad?"

"Ten minutes," the woman replied. "Our work here is almost done. Once we are through, we'll tell you what you should know. You'll need it if you start working here; new workers are coming in every day, and..."

"Stop," the clone interrupted. A thought had come to his head. "Are some of you..."

"Ninja?" Kiro replied. "Both me and Aiko are former shinobi."

"Aiko?" 'Konohamaru' turned towards the woman leaning in the corner. She nodded before she went to do what she was doing before. Absolutely nothing, save for putting enough energy into her body to keep herself standing and her arms crossed in front of her.

"It's pretty easy to tell that you are one, too, kid," Kiro replied. "There are a few of them around here."

"Cool," Konohamaru replied. He then changed the subject. "If I help out, can you guys get done quicker?"

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"Ugh," the other Konohamaru groaned. He had no sooner entered the room when he started feeling tired. Since then, in a span of about ten minutes, Konohamaru only managed to descend about six floors, having to rest each time he jumped from rafter to rafter. His user wasn't going to like it when the clone disperses himself. However he finally found what he was looking for, and his mouth dropped.

Right below the rafter that he was on, the lowest rafter in the cone, was his target. It was a pillar, about three meters in diameter. Guy wires and rod supports jutted out from it in every direction, securing it against the circular wall that surrounded this room. Lined on every available surface of that cylinder were flashing lights, monitors spewing gobs of words, none of which were legible from the clone's position, and a lot of words, notices, and signs. He had never seen anything like this before. And that was only near the top, too; he also wondered what it looked like further down.

Big mistake.

Fatigue turned to vertigo and nausea as the clone made the disastrous decision to look down. His eyes went in and out of focus, leaving him to figure out just how high he was. No, he didn't want to know; he pulled his eyes away and leaned back into a laying position on the rafter, gripping his rebelling gut.

"Ooooh..." 'Konohamaru' tried his best to regain control of his stomach. Looking down was a REALLY bad idea. Not that he was afraid of heights, but that was a LONG ways down. The tunnel effect caused by the outer walls made the vertigo even worse. Who the hell builds this kind of thing? Feeling his stomach start to calm down, the clone put his hands together in a seal and disappeared in a puff of smoke. His part of the mission, although not truly successful, could go on no further.

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"Anything yet?" Konohamaru asked his partner. It had been forty five minutes since the clones were first deployed. Since none of them had been terminated yet, that meant things were going well. Unfortunately, that also meant, for Konohamaru at least, things were getting very, very boring. It didn't help that he had long ago given up on the Rubik's cube he brought with him. Now he had nothing to do but talk, and there wasn't much to talk about.

"No," Naruto replied. He too was getting impatient.

"Hang in there, you two," Sakura said. He was standing beside them, sorting through her pack.

"At least you have something to do," Konohamaru complained.

"Oh?" Sakura replied. "You want to help me inventory these pills, antidotes, and medicines? I'm sure it will help your studies." Konohamaru cringed at the word 'studies.' Oh, how he hated school.

"Oh, neverm..." Konohamaru started, before he collapsed. His energy had completely left him; he was conscious, but almost wished he wasn't. His breathing became labored; if they weren't there with him the whole time, his teammates would probably have suspected that he just got done with a hard sprint. To make matters worse, his stomach was twisting in a knot.

"Sakura," Naruto said, frowning. He knew exactly what to do. "Soldier pill, now."

"Aye," Sakura replied, already fishing through her pack. She pulled out a foiled ball, peeled away its cover, and plopped it into Konohamaru's mouth. The boy chewed the medicine and quickly swallowed it. "It will take a few minutes for the pill to take effect. I hope your clones didn't dissipate. You'll probably pass out."

"One did," Konohamaru said, having a small amount of difficulty catching his breath. "That's why I feel like shit right now." That earned him a smack from the head by Sakura. Although it hurt, Konohamaru was too exhausted to respond. "The other one didn't come back, which is a relief, although he's probably on the floor too. Ugh..."

"Nope," Naruto exclaimed. If anybody knew anything about shadow clones, it was Naruto. "While experiences can pass between the clones themselves, exhaustion only gets passed between each clone and the user. As long as you stay conscious, he'll be fine."

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"Are you all right?" Aiko, addressed 'Konohamaru', who was deep in thought. He had just received the experience that the other clone had when he had dissipated, and it let him curious. Hearing the words however, he decided to let Shikamaru handle it and replied.

"Of course. Just was thinking that's all."

"I don't mean that," Aiko replied. Her voice was somewhat chipper, although she managed to keep a straight face. Not that it mattered since her unfolded collar made it difficult to tell what her emotions were anyway. "I mean you aren't eating anything. We are at a cafeteria, you know. Food is free here."

"I just don't feel like eating right now," 'Konohamaru' replied. He couldn't tell his teammates truly why: save for small amounts of medicine, shadow clones could not hold down food. At the very least, it would be messy once the shadow clones dissipated. He had to lie, instead. "I'm really nervous, and I just ate, too."

"I see," said the chubby one, whom 'Konohamaru' learned had the name Goro. The five of them were sitting at a round table, and all but the clone had plates of food in front of them. 'Konohamaru' made every effort to breathe through his mouth; if any air got to his nose, the smell would drive him mad. This food looked far better than the stuff he had been eating in the last few days. His mind was already starting to be directed towards the food; he had to act fast.

"Rei," the clone addressed the woman that, a few minutes earlier, had first addressed him when he entered the lab. It took a second as she looked up, noodles still hanging from her mouth. In spite of her elegant looks and demeanor, her table manners were definitely lacking. "You mentioned that things aren't very good here."

"Oh, yeah!" Rei replied. She used her chopsticks to siphon some stray noodles into her mouth, then swallowed. Once her mouth was cleared, she began to speak.

"Nearly everybody in this structure, save for the higher-ups, came here not knowing the true nature of the research. They came knowing only three things; that their services were needed, the job payed well, and that it involved a contract lasting two years. The one's who typically accept this, like us, have lost their clans or their villages. Two thousand six hundred people work in this structure, although our boss hopes to increase the numbers to nearly one hundred thousand in a span of two years."

"One... Hundred... Thousand...?" the clone gaped.

"Yeah," Goro replied. He then sported a small smile and chuckled. "I'll give you thirty seconds to figure out how he's going to do that."

"Hey, not fair!" 'Konohamaru' pouted. After a second, he complied and thought about it. If this many people are here only because they had nowhere else to go, then where is he going to find a hundred thousand? It's not like there are that many people aiming listlessly through the desert, or anything? Well... not yet... "He's planning on wiping out enough villages to get enough people desperate enough to work for him."

"Smart kid." Goro chuckled. He had tested the youngster, and, as a result, his respect for the boy rose a few notches.

"But how?" the clone asked.

"We don't know the specifics," Kiro replied. "But we do know that he, some time ago, had murdered tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people. The results of a single experiment, a SINGLE one, gave him enough power to do this. At least, until he lost control. What he lost control of, or why, how, where, or when anything happened, is beyond any of us at this point. The four of us were lucky enough to get the information that we did, and pass it on to our comrades. It seems that he is yearning to repeat history again."

"But why would he want to do that?" The clone asked, his heart racing at what he was hearing. It was Goro who replied:

"Because he is a crazy motherfucker!"

"LANGUAGE!" the other three chastised in unison. Not that it did much; Goro smiled and went on. No matter the situation, it seemed, he didn't stop smiling.

"I mean it," Goro justified. "The way this place is built, the way he orders things around, the way he treats his subjects. I think this guy suffers from more psychological disorders than I can recite!"

"Goro may sound like an idiot," Aiko replied, getting a small 'hmph' from the jolly round man, "but he has a point. His logic is rarely sound, he tends to act impulsively, and he has destructive, sometimes murderous tendencies."

"Then why doesn't everybody leave?" Konohamaru asked, his voice elevated in anger and frustration. It was fortunate that the cafeteria was nearly empty; otherwise he would run the risk of being overheard. "If this guy is so nuts, why can't people just turn around and get out of here?"

"Because security here is way too tight!" Kiro replied. He too was showing some anger. Not at Konohamaru; at the situation they were in. "Most of us can't get out. And those of us who can are too worried that their leaving will end up causing a witch hunt. This man is capable and willing to do such a thing." Even Goro quit smiling and frowned at their predicament.

"Wait," Konohamaru realized. "Your boss, this guy, what is his name?"

"His name," Rei stated...

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'Naruto' had reached his destination; one-hundred-sixty-first floor, north side. Sure enough, the hallway, just like before, was completely dark. In addition, his energy level had noticeably improved. Not at full strength by any means, but enough to do his technique and move on.

**"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."** Another clone had appeared, sans leather shoes and lab coat.

"You know what to do." The first clone took the spare ID out of his pocket and gave it to the other clone, who immediately ran for the window and jumped out. "Don't roast to death in the heat."

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"Konohamaru." Naruto attempted to shake Konohamaru out of his daze. Sakura looked at the situation nervously; if Naruto shook the younger kid any harder, the kid's neck could snap in half. Fortunately, after a few moments of being jostled around, Konohamaru finally perked up and pushed himself to a seated position. Soldier pills took a while to take effect, after all, and at least his neck was still intact, if a little sore.

"I'm up, I'm up." Konohamaru shook his head, ridding himself of the last of his grogginess. "There's definitely something wrong with that generator, though. The moment he entered, the energy just got sucked out of him. He could hardly walk."

"But did you see it?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Konohamaru replied. "It was really tall, round and narrow, and covered with lights and stuff. It was almost the height of the entire room!"

"I hope you didn't look down," Sakura asked. A soft, sickened groan from Konohamaru was the only response.

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Meanwhile, Naruto's clone had made steady progress for Hidan's room. It didn't take him long to climb the stairs, and, in spite of his sometimes poor sense of direction, he had managed to enter the right hallway. He only came across one security guard, one randomly stationed on the floor he was on, and that guard was satisfied when the clone showed him his fake ID. But, now was the moment of truth. The climax of the mission. He held his breath, turned the knob, and pushed the door open.

He stood still for a moment, his tension getting the best of him. He didn't know what to expect; what he'd hear; what he'd see; what he'd think, even. When, at least, nothing came to his ears, he stepped inside, only to find that the room was completely dark. He felt near the doorway for a light switch, and then, when he found it, flipped it on.

What greeted him, lining one of the side walls of the room, was a control panel. The entire panel was lined with buttons, switches, levers, and keys, and the wall above it was covered with rows of computer monitors. It was completely inactive, a fact shown by a single piece of paper taped to one of the screens that read 'OUT OF ORDER.' Even if it didn't glow or sparkle or anything, the clone was still fascinated. His eyes traced over it, taking in every detail, when...

"Who the fuck woke me up!?!" The voice was loud, sneering, and annoying. 'Naruto' turned away from the panel and looked to the other side. There, in plain view, was Hidan. Or, at least, Hidan's head, sitting comfortably on a red silk pillow. The clone stood, gawking at the head for a moment, before his hands were forced to cover his face, barely able to contain his laughter.

"Asshole! Do you know who you are laughing at!?!"

"Yep," 'Naruto' replied. "Hidan." The disembodied head's anger diminished slightly, allowing a small hint of pride to creep in instead.

"Oh, so you do know me. Better damn well should!" His replies were greeted by stifled laughter. "What the hell!?"

"You look ridiculous!" the clone stammered between fits of laughter. "An Akatsuki member, now reduced to a talking head!"

"Shut the fuck up!" The head was getting livid, and was rocking back and forth on his pillow. "If I still had a body, you wouldn't be standing right now!"

"If you still had a body." 'Naruto' scoffed, turned his nose away from Hidan. The clone was having the time of his life. He walked away from the door and was walking towards Hidan, trying his best to give the impression of dominance. Very few people in this world would get the chance to take advantage of an Akatsuki member like this and live to tell about it. "Hell, I took out three of Kakuzu's hearts with a single attack!"

"Oh, really?" Hidan sneered. He was actually gaining a sliver of respect for the kid. A sliver, mind you, but that was more than he reserved for most people. "He was such a dumbass anyway. All he thought about was money. Money, money, money. Always talked about killing me, too. Of course, he can't, you can't, nobody can. Jashin will always persevere, and I am his faithful, eternal servant!"

"Oh?" A deep voice was heard from the doorway. Hidan and 'Naruto', startled, both turned towards the doorway. The man that stood there was tall. Really tall. Naruto couldn't reach the top of the doorway he was standing in with an outstretched arm; this man had to bow his head just to avoid collision. He was also quite thin; not emaciated, but thin. The black, skin tight suit that covered everything save for his head and hands, along with the black felt cape that ran from his shoulders and just barely brushed the floor. While the head was not covered by the suit, 'Naruto' almost wish it had; the man's eyes were completely black, to the point where it was impossible to differentiate between the man's pupils' and his irises. His jet black hair was just long enough to allow being combed and gelled back. He had no beard, but his chin and the sides of his head were darkened by a shadow, looking as if the guy hadn't shaved in a day or two. The bumps, lines, and thin scars showed that the man was middle-aged and battle experience. He scowled, a look more intimidating by the fact that the man's eyebrows were barely visible. "Do tell."

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"His name," Rei stated, "is Diabolos."

"Diabolos?" 'Konohamaru' asked. "I haven't heard of that name before."

"That's because it is derived from a different language," Kiro added. "It's Greek, means 'slanderer' or 'accuser'. It's a pretty fitting name, if you ask me. Did we forget to mention that he can get paranoid at times?"

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"Nothing you really would be interested in," Hidan exclaimed. "As I said before, I hated the asshole. I don't care how old he is or the fact that he ripped the still-beating hearts of his enemies. He's still an asshole. I'm way better than him. As long as I'm the servant of Jashin, I'm better than everyone."

"Oh?" the man repeated again, before going into a round of disturbing laughter. "And you think Jashin is going to save you now?"

"You can bet your ass on it!" Hidan remarked. "I don't give a shit who tries to pull shit on me, even you, Diabolos!"

_Even his name is scary, _'Naruto' thought. He was certain this wasn't going to turn out good. He just didn't know how right he would be.

"Hidan, Hidan, Hidan," Diabolos muttered, walking towards the head, right in front of the clone. The clone backed out of the way, but his eyes didn't leave the giant's body. He noticed that the suit wasn't made entirely of spandex; instead, it was made of leather, with spandex on the interior of the joints, as well as around the shoulders and hips, which allowed increased flexibility. Even though his posture was relaxed, his arms at his side, each step was accompanied by an audible pound. "You do realize that your 'Jashin' is a figment of the imagination, do you not?"

"Blasphemy!" The head was getting furious. Even as tense as he is, Naruto's clone couldn't help but find amusement in a disembodied head, even as tense as he felt. One that swears, screams, and curses was all the more fun.

"Oh?" the man repeated yet again. "Let me explain something to you, Hidan. The only reason you exist right now is because of me."

"Because you pulled me out of the dirt," Hidan mocked. He was furious. "I would have survived as long as Jashin willed me, jackass."

"You are shallow, aren't you? Well, let's get a little earlier. Jashin isn't the reason you're immortal, bitch. I am."

"Fuck you!" Hidan was pissed.

"It was my experiments that cause your body to regenerate as fast as it does. It was my experiments that allow you to live without a beating heart. It was my experiments that allow you to go months, years without food." A pause, followed by an evil smirk. "It was my experiments that gave you your lust for blood and pain." 'Naruto' was now realizing just how much of a threat this was becoming. His newly recognized enemy has been around before this structure came up. LONG before.

"Whatever, I'm not listening."

"Of course, I couldn't take credit for everything; I couldn't leave any tracks, so I created your delusion of a religion and you played your part perfectly. Of course, I don't need you anymore, so..."

"I don't need you either!" Hidan anger had not waned in the slightest. "I'm immortal, damn it!" His only response was a low murmering by the large man. 'Naruto' tried listening in, but the voice was too low and soft to make out the words. It... almost sounded like a chant. After a tense few moments, the man stared Hidan straight into the eye. 'Naruto' froze, nearly overwhelmed by the amount of killing intent that he felt. It was stifling, even though it wasn't even directed at him. Any trace of Hidan's smugness, as well as the color on his face, had completely left him.

**"Art of Darkness: Void Fissure!"**


	7. Shattered

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

First of all, thank you for your support. The number of fans of this series is slowly growing, not bad for something that doesn't contain Yaoi or isn't a crossover. I hope you followed the series closely. For those of you who are wondering, I made a minor amount of edits to the previous six chapters, including some mistakes involving canon. This is a list of changes to past and future chapters.

I gave the four scientists physical descriptions, and fixed some minor naming screw-ups. The last chapter, in addition to sounding rushed, was actually rushed. Last time I publish a chapter the same day I type it. Next time, I'll proofread.

I changed the name of the attack that Diabolos did in the last chapter to an English name. Translating into Japanese isn't my thing.

I changed Sunagakure's position relative to Konohagakure to reflect official sources. I wasn't even aware that there were official sources until recently.

Lastly, straight to silver-eyed: I didn't quite have that picture in mind, but now I can't get rid of it. Thanks a ton for the suggestion.

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Konohamaru, or Konohamaru's clone to be more specific, was sitting at a round table in the cafeteria with the four scientists that he had met earlier in one of the labs two stories up, and each were more than willing to give as much information as they knew about their line of work. Rei, the slender redhead, was poking at her noodles with her chopsticks. Goro, the obese baldy with the comically minuscule green and white striped fedora and a sense of humor that was impossible to douse with a tsunami, was sipping gingerly at a saucer of fine sake. The dark-skinned Kumogakure ninja was trying to douse his mouth with water after taking too large of a bite of particularly spicy stirfry, although his face showed no signs of the pain. The other shinobi, a reclusive kunoichi by the name of Aiko, had already finished off her plate, a small entrée of fish teriyaki. The clone was interested at their topics, and Diabolos was a particularly hot one. "So how does this guy have that much weird chakra?"

"Let's just say," Goro replied, "that he is his own personal favorite specimen in a lot of his experiments, especially those involving chakra."

"Do the experiments that you four were working on also have to do with chakra?" 'Konohamaru' asked.

"Yes," Goro replied. "At least, three of us did. It would be four if Aiko got off her lazy ass." He was greeted with a harsh glare from the kunoichi. After a tense moment, Aiko continued.

"Because of what he put himself through, he has a very, well, 'abnormal' chakra reserve, far beyond what most humans are capable of tolerating."

"Meaning..." the clone guessed, "...he has more power than any other person on this planet?"

"He possesses an abnormally large charka reserve as I mentioned before," Aiko went on, "but I wouldn't blow it out of proportion. No, he isn't nearly that level of a threat. Also, because of the way he obtained it, he doesn't possess nearly the level of control that would be expected of a shinobi."

"Although he does seem to have control over certain 'abilities' involving darkness," Rei interjected.

"He knows darkness release ninjutsu?" 'Konohamaru' asked.

"I wouldn't call it 'ninjutsu'," remarked Kiro.

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**"Art of Darkness: Void Fissure!" **Diabolos bellowed. Nothing happened for a moment, but then a black flame started to form on his outreached hand. The fire was so dark, so pitch black that it seemed to devour any and all light that dare threatened to pass through it. 'Naruto' stood in awe at the flame, its color throwing off the clone's depth perception. He was even more dumbstruck when he pried his hands off of the flame and instead observed Hidan.

On the red pillow that Hidan's head was sitting on, was a black circle, filled in with what looked like intricate line-work. It looked like an ancient spell or, more accurately, a glyph. But that wasn't the weird part; although it almost looked like the design was part of the pillow, it was rotating, separately from anything it touched. It was more like the individual stitches on the pillow where changing in color to create the pattern. After a few seconds, however, the circle started to fill in, the lines inside being replaced by solid black. Hidan was growing uneasy; whatever was forming underneath him was something he had never seen before.

CRACK!

A cylinder, its base the size and shape of the circle and enveloping Hidan, flashed into existence for only a moment, its entire, brief lifespan both beginning and punctuating with the same loud, piercing crack. The noise was loud enough to cause the room to shake, dazed the clone slightly and forced him to cover his ears in reaction, but he was quickly able to recover, attempting to look at the cylinder that had formed. But the cylinder was gone, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

And Hidan was nowhere in sight.

The only trace of the head was the spray of blood that had coated the pillow, the wall, and the floor. 'Naruto' was completely shocked; the sound was easily loud enough to cause his ears to ring, and his breath was slightly unsteady. The only thing that registered to his mind was that his face felt a little warm in spots. He reached up, felt his face with his fingertips, and observed. One of his fingers was coated with a small drop of blood. He felt his face again. There were small pits in the skin, but they shouldn't have been bleeding. That's when he realized. A few drops of Hidan's blood had hit his face so hard that it actually pierced a few layers of skin.

_This...jutsu..._ Naruto thought, starting at the empty space that was once Hidan.He then faced the only other man in the room. "What the hell was that!?! That thing... you completely obliterated him! And there isn't a... a darkness jutsu..."

"Oh, curious kid?" Diabolos smirked, his voice deep. 'Naruto' didn't reply; he was petrified. Diabolos was nothing to be trifled with, that was plainly obvious. He was started to regret speaking up. "You are completely right on every point you made, twerp. That's why I don't bother with something as weak as ninjutsu."

"Uhh..." was the reply. It was impossible to discern whether speaking up was the right thing to do now or not. _What the hell? That had to be a ninjutsu! It definitely isn't an illusion; I'd be able to sense it. _His thoughts were disrupted when Diabolos continued.

"I'll tell you the rest, but..." He ran over to the clone and palmed him right in the chest. It wasn't hard, but the clone found that his body was completely unable to move, instead simply falling limp to the ground. The only thing that he could do easily was breathe; at least the wind wasn't knocked out of him. "I can't let you get away. And besides, what kind of man would I be if I gave away all of my secrets?"

'Naruto' gritted his teeth. This man was definitely strong, but the clone had already figured out several weaknesses in the man. At least, he hope he did. For one, the technique Diabolos did to Hidan took far too long to conjure; an experienced ninja, or at least an experienced ninja with an attached body, could have been able to dodge it. In addition, the man didn't look like a speedster in any means; were Naruto at full strength, it may be possible that, offensively at least, Naruto would have the advantage. Defensively, however, was anybody's guess. He WAS thin and tall but, then again, he did practically create Hidan. 'Naruto' was fortunate of Shikamaru's plan; since this one was a clone, that meant that the original user was immune to anything that happened here.

He hoped.

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"Let me get this straight," Konohamaru's clone started. "The jutsus that this guy can do was around long before ninjutsu, and should now be ancient history."

"Correct," Rei assured.

"While ninjutsu requires hand signs," the clone went on, "these abilities required incantations. These incantations took too long to say, so people started switching to ninjutsu instead. However, while ninjutsu has five main elements for most people; fire, earth, wind, water, and lightning, these techniques can take on three additional elements: light, darkness, and ice. That's all, right?"

"Nope, you missed a few things" Goro replied, grinning as usual. "First, there is no place for nature affinity in these techniques, so it is perfectly reasonable for a skilled user to be able to use all eight elements proficiently, rather than just two or three."

"Back then, before the advent of ninjutsu," Kiro stated, "these abilities were called 'magic.' Their users didn't know of the chakra system or the mechanics behind its manipulation, so the term was, at the time, fairly fitting. It wasn't until near the creation of ninjutsu that such things were discovered. While, now, there is no longer an official term for these abilities, the four of us like to refer to them as 'Arts'."

"Cool," 'Konohamaru' stated. This was perhaps the first history lesson he ever heard that he had any remote interest in. "So what Arts are this Diabolos guy capable of?"

"Fortunately," Kiro stated, "He seems to only be able to handle the element of darkness. Fitting, I'll say. We also believe that, thanks to the way his chakra is, as unnatural as it is, he should only be capable of manipulating this element; he practically experimented his way from being able to achieve any of the others."

"So, can I guess that, since he is Darkness, that he is weak to light Arts?"

"We don't think so," Kiro replied. "Some of the experiments that we partook in involved the interactions between various elements of Arts. Although some experiments proved to be inconclusive, since no scientist has actually created a full-scale Arte, we did learn that the elements follow don't follow a rock-paper-scissors hierarchy like ninjutsu. Instead, the elements are grouped in pairs, one element being the antithesis of the other. Basically, light is the opposite of dark, wind is the opposite of earth, lightning is the opposite of water, and fire is the opposite of ice. When two Arts of opposite affinities interact, each one's effectiveness is reduced to varying degrees. Also, a person's defensive capabilities have little to do with his or her offensive capabilities; although it was rare, it is not impossible for a person with strong ice Arts, for example, to have been weak defensively against those same Arts."

"So we won't know until we try," 'Konohamaru' concluded.

"Right, but just one problem," Goro replied. "If the Arts that we have been able to recreate were any smaller, we'd have to view them through a microscope. Against Diabolos, we'd have a snowball's chance in hell."

"Great..." the clone sighed. He imagined himself directing huge beams of light from the heavens, roasting Diabolos to a smelly, burning crisp, but this last bit of news sort of put a damper on things. He looked up, hoping that at least one of the four people around him would give him a reply. He got a reply, but it came from behind him.

"Don't be so damn depressed. And here I thought you were the 'master of pranks' and whatnot. You aren't allowed to be depressed." Konohamaru whipped around to turn to the man that stood behind him. His hair was wild, his grin toothy and childish, and his shirt a weird shade of neon green, with a little blue hue mixed in for good measure.

"Hayashi?" 'Konohamaru' asked.

"Yep," Hayashi replied. "Like the new shirt?" He took of his jacket, revealing that his t-shirt was one color; the same odd shade of green.

"I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that thing," the clone sneered, eliciting a small amount of stifled laughter from a few members of the group.

"I'll make sure to get you a few next time we meet, then," Hayashi joked. He apparently didn't care at all about how he looked. Either that, or he wore what he did just for the attention. "But there are more stressing matters at hand. First of all, you four can cut the innocent act."

"Ah, man," Goro sighed. "And I was having so much fun, too!"

"So you knew who I was the whole time?" 'Konohamaru' asked. The four of them nodded in unison.

"Most of the scientists on that floor know of your identity," Hayashi explained. "I pulled a few strings so that only a handful of the labs were occupied at the time, so as few people as possible had to be alerted. It wouldn't be too convenient of Diabolos was in on our little shindig after all." The clone pondered that for a moment, then a rather surprising realization came to him.

"How many people are actually aware of this, aware of our mission?"

"How do I put this?" Hayashi thought. It took a small moment, but he continued. "There are roughly two thousand, three hundred employees, one hundred security personnel, and ten administrators in this building, not including Diabolos. Out of that, one-thousand, four-hundred twenty-six employees, twenty-one security guards, and one administrator are aware of our plans and are assisting us."

"One thou... Over half of the entire place!?" 'Konohamaru' gaped, staring at the others sitting at the table. No wonder this was so easy.

"About sixty percent, yeah," Goro replied.

"How did you pull that off?" The clone turned to Hayashi, who was now leaning against Konohamaru's chair.

"Top secret," Hayashi replied teasingly. "But it was pretty easy, considering that most of the people who work here don't seem to have kind feelings towards this place. Diabolos isn't very hospitable."

"Hold it," Rei replied. "We're on friendly terms, but you never come by unless you have something important to say." She glared at Hayashi, who jumped back slightly in surprise.

"Oh, yeah!" He turned to the young teen. "Your friend has been captured, and it may be best if we go to his aid. You four, stay here."

"What!?!" The clone jumped out of his chair. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

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'Naruto' had no clue where he was at. Right after the clone was dropped onto the floor in Hidan's room, two others, presumably accomplices or servants of Diabolos, had hastily blindfolded and gagged the clone and tied his hands behind him. He still couldn't move; apparently, Diabolos had placed a paper seal on the clone's abdomen when the man had hit him earlier, robbing him of his strength. Instead, the two accomplices were dragging him by the scruff of his shirt, a particularly uncomfortable situation for the clone, as they followed Diabolos up to a higher floor of the cone.

"Be patient, kid," Diabolos stated. "I'll make sure your death is swift." He then let out what would have been a laugh, except there was more air than actual voice in it, and what voice was in it was high, cackling, and menacing.

_The way this guy laughs, _Naruto shuddered to himself. _And I thought the demon fox was disturbing. This guy just screams 'Maniac.' _His thoughts were interrupted when both accomplices lost their grip, causing the clone to land on his face. It was a wonder that the clone hadn't been terminated yet; the kage bunshin technique wasn't made to handle this kind of abuse.

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"Anything?" Naruto, the real Naruto, stated, lying on his back with his arms folding behind his head. Shizune, her sleeves rolled up to allow her hands to be exposed, had been going through every diagnostic technique in her arsenal to figure out what was wrong with Naruto. She checked practically every point in Naruto's chakra system, some multiple times. She checked heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, eyesight, everything she could do. Naruto, although slightly agitated by Shizune's unusual "thoroughness," he was allowing her to do her job, even if for no other reason than boredom.

"None," Shizune sat up, defeated. "Every vital sign seems excellent. The only abnormality I see is a minor lack of vitamin C, zinc, and a few other nutrients; you really should have a more balanced diet, Naruto."

"Ehh," Naruto groaned, "I like my ramen."

"But you'll die unless if all you eat is noodles and broth," Shizune exclaimed.

"I think I remember Kakashi-sensei talk about that a while ago," Naruto recollected, his eyes wandering around the forest canopy.

"And you still didn't listen to him," Shizune snapped, eliciting a sigh from Naruto. "As I said, other than that, you seem to be in fine shape. We'll look at you some more when we get back to Konohagakure; maybe we can get some help from the Hyuuga clan; they might be able to get some more insight than I can."

"Yes, ma'am," Naruto replied, polite but visibly disappointed. He sighed before getting on his feet, eyes downcast for a moment. Just then, a rusting could be heard in the trees nearby. "Someone's coming!"

"Hey, I'm a good guy!" came a voice from the trees, just as a Naruto clone jumped down from the branches, holding a small envelope in his hands.

"What's this?" Naruto asked.

"I can't explain it," the clone replied, before dissipating in a puff of smoke. That was definitely advantage to the shadow clone technique; since clones could share experiences, there was no need for spoken words. Naruto turned to Konohamaru.

"Guess your friend is pretty useful."

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"Hey, easy!" 'Naruto' yelled as his gag and blindfold were hastily removed from him. He was still weak; the seal had not been removed, nor was it weakening. The clone could not resist as he was carried over to a plain metal fold-up chair, placed rather crudely on it, and his legs were roped to the chair's front legs. Soon after, the two accomplices quickly exited the room, leaving the door ajar and only the clone and its captor were left in the room.

Unlike the other rooms that he had encountered, this space was surrounded by bare concrete; floor, ceiling, and all walls were a dark gray. The only sources of color were the yellowish-tint of the bare light bulb on the ceiling, the wood grain on the door, a silvery communications panel near the door, and a single, yellow work bench on one wall. Diabolos walked over to the bench, his head nearly grazing the ceiling, and picked up a small object on the table and placed it on his face. When he turned around, 'Naruto' noticed that he now sported a wiry pair of sunglasses with round, black lenses and a silver metal frame.

"That's better," Diabolos stated. 'Naruto' was a little relieved; those eyes were giving him the chills. At least now he couldn't see them any more. Diabolos turned back to the table and picked up what looked like a small clear container, then paced slowly towards the clone.

"You know what this is?" Diabolos kneeled down to face the clone eye-to-eye and then showed the clone and showed him the object in his hand. It wasn't just a container; it was a medical syringe, complete with a thin needle at the end. Inside, about two milliliters of a clear fluid were suspended.

"No..." 'Naruto' asked. He was nervous, even if he was only a clone. "What is it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Diabolos teased menacingly, before reaching around and jabbing the needle into the clone's shoulder. 'Naruto' shuddered a little, unsure of what exactly was put into him, but certain that it wasn't for his own benefit.

"I'm not telling you anything," he yelled at his captor. He then felt a twinge of pain as the needle was hastily yanked from his skin and tossed aside.

"You won't?" Diabolos asked menacingly. "Are you sure? Even after I tell you what the hell I just did to you?"

"Tell me," 'Naruto' demanded.

"Like you're in a position to tell me what to do," Diabolos sneered, before slapping the clone in the face. "But, since you are amusing me so much, I'll comply for now. Are you aware of pain, kid?"

"Pain?" 'Naruto' asked. "You mean, that weird seven-in-one guy in Akatsuki?"

"No, brat," Diabolos replied patiently. "I mean, the pain you feel when you get stabbed, burned... broken."

"Oh," 'Naruto' stated, pulling lightly at his hands and legs, testing his restraints. He wasn't going anywhere. "Of course. What kind of question is that?"

"Good. You know the basic function of pain; to warn the body that it's function is not optimal, that something is out of the norm, be it a bone that is broken, skin that is torn, or a tongue that has been burned."

"Yeah, so what?"

"You are also aware that there is only a certain amount of pain that the brain is capable of handling, a 'pain threshold', as it is called. A point that few people will ever even come close to, let alone experience. Very few injuries, even potentially fatal injuries, rarely reach this threshold. And do you know what happens when this threshold is reached?"

"The person dies?" 'Naruto' asked, nervously.

"Nah, kid," Diabolos assured, if 'assured' is even the right word for it. "A person simply passes out from the pain. Spares him from the anguish. Pitiful, if you ask me; takes all the fun out of torture if the person simply passes out in the middle of it. Fortunately, I have come across the solution to that."

"The... the stuff you gave me?" the clone asked, scared of what he may hear.

"Exactly. This fluid takes out this little defense by preventing a person from passing out due to pain, even if it exceeds the threshold. And guess what happens when the brain experiences pain beyond what it is supposed to bear."

"The person... dies?" 'Naruto' repeated.

"His mind dies a horrible death. There is nothing left of his sanity; any trace left of a reasonable, sound mind is shattered, and the result is an empty vessel that is easy to manipulate, to control."

"You... used this to control someone?"

"Yes," Diabolos answered. He turned to the work table and reached around to the side. From the clone's perspective, it looked like there was a drawer there, although the view of it was obstructed by his captor, and Diabolos had opened it, grabbed something, closed it with a slam, and turned around. Now, in Diabolos' hand, was a small, hand-held device with two prongs on one end. It was cylindrical in shape, and was just small enough in diameter for Diabolos' fingers and thumb to completely wrap around it.

"What...?" 'Naruto' started.

"This?" Diabolos stopped and bent down, hovering the device playfully right in front of the clone's eyes. "This little guy stimulates the nervous system. Whenever I apply it to someone, the pain receptors that these prongs touch are activated. I can alter the amount of pain, from a simple itch..." He turned a knob at the base of the device. "...to levels suitable for torture..." He turned the knob further still. "...and finally, to levels capable of destroying one's mind in an instant." He then laughed his airy, sinister laugh.

_Oh shit..._ was all the clone could think. This wasn't going to be pretty.

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"How much higher do we have to go?" 'Konohamaru' asked.

"Floor one-seventy-two, northeast wing," Hayashi replied. "We only have about four more stories to climb."

"But why do we have to go to his aid? We're both clones. Nothing can happen to the real us whatever happens here."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Hayashi warned. "One thing Diabolos loves to do is torture, and, although I do not know much about shadow clones, I'm certain that if the original user gets the experience of a clone that has been tortured, it could have negative psychological effects. We can only hope that the original user can block the experience before the damage becomes too severe."

"That... can't be good..." the clone replied. Hayashi replied in return.

"The shadow clone technique is a relatively old technique," Hayashi replied. "An old friend of mine reported seeing someone use the technique over fifty years ago, and it is still being used for reconnaissance, apparent by your current mission. Since it's still has this purpose, I'm assuming that there are safeguards against a situation like this."

"I hope so," 'Konohamaru' replied, before spotting a sign on the top of the current flight of stairs. "This is our floor, right?"

"Yeah, this is it." Hayashi slowed down, expecting the clone to pass him. However, the clone had stopped a few steps shy of the landing, his face crunched in thought. "Hurry up, will ya?"

"You said that Naruto is on the North-West wing, right?" the clone replied.

"Yeah," Hayashi replied, anxious. "There are eight halls on this floor. Your friend is on the northeast wing; we are currently nearest the southeast. He'll likely be the second room on the left once you enter the hall. Let's go!"

"No," 'Konohamaru' commanded. "I'll go by myself."

"I have reasons to go," Hayashi replied sternly. "Please don't deny me."

"Sorry," the clone explained. "The people here need you. It is only a matter of time before Diabolos realizes that both Naruto and I are actually clones, and will likely lash out at the rest of the people here. Your friends from earlier explained that the guy has a streak of paranoia, and it is no doubt going to surface. He is also going to likely try to find us. Your blueprints showed that this place contains a space, at the bottom of the cone, dedicating to housing some sort of combat unit. I also think, and hope, that some of the internal security will also be deployed; this guy will not want his secrets leaked."

"Your point?" Hayashi replied, his nervousness growing.

"The security will be light inside, chaos will ensue," the clone explained. "Use your imagination." Hayashi immediately grasped the point.

"Meaning it is probably the best chance we have for the people here to escape."

"Exactly. The closest place of possible residence would be Sunagakure to the southwest, but the weather there is pretty bad, so I doubt that they can support so many people. Most should escape into the forest and head east. There is a main path about three kilometers south of here that heads east to Konohagakure. Since it is an open path, the best course of action is safety in numbers. It is about a four, five day trip for a large group. Once you get there, we'll figure out a way to get as many of them a place to live as possible, either in fire country or one of the other nations, before Diabolos realizes what's going on."

"Okay." Hayashi replied, a smile returning to his face. He was surprised that the kid had thought so far ahead. The clone was equally surprised at himself; for stating so often that he did everything to mirror Naruto, Konohamaru had apparently taken a few traits from Shikamaru. Either that or he realized a part of himself he never knew existed. "I'll head down to floor one-forty; I can hijack the communications room and direct orders for evacuation. You, wreak as much havoc as you can! The more chaos, the better!"

"Yes, sir!" the clone cheered as he ran out into the main chamber of the cone. It was satisfying saying those words with conviction; this clone wasn't going to be around much longer, so he might as well go out with a bang. Once the stairwell was cleared, Hayashi turned around and ran down the stairs, anxious to get his new mission started, a smile plastered on this face.

_I'll be seeing him again. I have no doubt in my mind that this kid is who we are looking for._

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"Now tell me," Diabolos hissed, "how many of you are here, and why?"

"None of us are here," 'Naruto' pouted. "Why would anyone put up with this hellhole, anyway?" That earned him a slap on the cheek. Apparently, the device he saw was not going to be used until later.

"Stop being such a jackass," replied the tall man. "Tell me, or I'll turn your brain into mush"

'Naruto' eyed the device closely. He wanted to hold out as long as he can; it was fortunate that it wasn't the real thing here. Clones have had death blows before sent back to the original Naruto, and nothing bad happened out of that. How bad could this be? "Whatever," the clone stabbed back. "You look like a homosexual, by the way. Apply that device to yourself; you are already a fruit, and, with any luck, you'll turn into a vegetable as well." The longer he held out, the better the chance of getting vital information.

"Silence, you son of a bitch," Diabolos glared, a large amount of killing intent radiating from his eyes. 'Naruto' gulped nervously. "You clearly don't understand the predicament you are in. Here, let me give you a demonstration." He took the prongs and softly pressed them against the clone's abdomen. To the clone, however, he might as well have jabbed it into his gut; the pain, although definitely bearable, was no walk in the park; this device worked, and it worked with unnerving efficiency. Any worse and the clone's integrity would be at risk, and he would have to disengage his technique and disappear.

"Next time," the man stated, twisting the knob on the bottom of the device. "You lose your sanity."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you anything," 'Naruto' replied, his voice level and as emotionless as his tension would allow. "I can assure you, however, that much of your secrets have already been leaked. There is nothing you can do to stop it, and no one in this structure had anything to do with it. The mission was started outside of here, and everything was operated outside of here, so don't go incinerating your workforce trying to find a leak, because you will not find any."

"Tell me one thing, kid, and I'll let you live," Diabolos replied. This caught the clone's attention. "What village are you from?" 'Naruto' took a moment to think. If simply knowing the village that was involved in this was even remotely useful, then Diabolos had enough resources or power to influence such a village. It could simply be overconfidence, but such knowledge would not otherwise be worth releasing a prisoner. It's like a game of shogi; sometimes sacrificing a high rank piece to obtain a knight was worth it if the player knew that the knight would force checkmate in a few moves. In this case, something as insignificant as this information could allow Diabolos a key resource in his plans, whatever they are.

"Over my dead body."

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'Konohamaru' was sprinting as fast as he could. It no longer mattered whether or not his actions were suspicious; this place was only a few moments away from going to the dogs no matter how he acted, so he might as well get as much use of these last few moments of peace as possible. He didn't encounter any security on this floor, although a guard spotted him on the other side of the floor, a few floors up, and was running towards the staircase. It didn't matter; there wasn't enough time.

_This is the place, _he thought to himself as he turned down the hallway. He had wondered if the room he was looking for was locked; he was especially glad that the door was already ajar; that meant that he could peer inside without making any noise. He slowed his pace, quickly reducing to a steady, slow walk, then planted his back against the wall at the side of the door. He overheard the conversation inside.

"...What village are you from?" came a voice from the inside.

_That is likely Diabolos,_ 'Konohamaru' thought.

"Over my dead body," was the response. The voice was easily recognized as Naruto's, so 'Konohamaru' turned and peeked around the edge of the doorway. Sure enough, there was an impossibly tall man, wearing all black, holding the blond shinobi, or at least his clone, captive in an uncomfortable looking metal chair. In the tall man's hands was a menacing-looking device.

"So be it." The man kneeled down, meeting the clone eye-to-eye one last time, then slowly pressed the device against the side of the clone's neck. What happened next was perhaps the most disturbing thing that Konohamaru had ever seen.

The moment the device had touched his neck, the Naruto clone's body completely seized, as if every muscle in his body had tried to contract at once, and his mouth open, screaming. But no sound could be heard from him. Then, the clone started to dissolve. It wasn't a single poof like it should have been; starting at the fingertips and the ends of the feet, the clone's body slowly melted into thin streams of smoke. Both Diabolos and 'Konohamaru' stared in shock as first the hands and feet seemed to burn away, the smoky mist painstakingly working its way up past Naruto's fingers and into his hands. Diabolos was starting to grow angry. 'Konohamaru', however, was mortified at the sight, but was forced to turn away as Diabolos turned towards the comm panel that was near the door.

"We have intruders, and they have leaked information outside of the lab," Diabolos commanded. "Shut down the Temperance Generator, and release all military units. Deploy them to the forest, the desert, and and and every nearby settlement. Anyone who even acts suspiciously shall be killed immediately! We cannot let our information get into enemy hands!"

_Here we go... _'Konohamaru' turned and ran for the main chamber of the cone, dissipating his transformation so that he was back into his old clothes. He reached behind him to the pouch that he carried above his waist, and pulled out three kunai. All three had explosive tags on them.

"Good thing I always bring these on a mission," Konohamaru thought loudly to himself as he emerged from the hallway. The security guard from earlier was just approaching the hallway, and, upon spotting the clone, was ready to chase him down. However, the clone wasn't planning on running around the security guard; instead, he vaulted graciously over the fence that bordered the walkway and went into free fall down the chamber of the cone.

"What the!?!" the clone heard the security guard say before the sound of wind rushing passed him completely drowned out all other sound around him. The feeling was exhilarating, but he knew that there wasn't time to waste. He took his three kunai, braced himself, and threw them at the center pillar of the cone, each about three seconds apart. Knowing he didn't have much time left before he hit the ground, he turned his body around and faced upward. Seeing that the tags were indeed lit, he hurriedly put his hands together and disappeared in a puff of smoke just as the first tag erupted in a loud, blinding explosion.

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Konohamaru was thinking quietly to himself, distancing himself slightly from the rest of the group. No one minded him; they figured that he simply wanted to be left alone to his thoughts. They were almost right, except Konohamaru didn't even want his own thoughts, either; he wanted to take a nap. It's funny how the less active one is, the more sleepy and unmotivated one feels. He envied his clone; the clone was having all the fun while he was stuck counting leaves on the trees. He leaned back to close his eyes before a now familiar sensation went over him.

"My clone's done," Konohamaru announced. He then sorted through the onslaught of thoughts, experiences, and images that were being sent to him. Some caught him by surprise, but one experience in particular had his heart racing. He turned and ran for the others. Specifically, he was sprinting towards Naruto, who was sitting cross-legged with Shizune and Sakura. Ino had gone off to check on Shikamaru and Udon, and Moegi was playing along the forest canopy.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru yelled, visibly shaken and scared.

Naruto's face twitched in annoyance. When he was focused on something, he didn't like to be disturbed. "What is it now, Kohohamaru?"

Konohamaru was growing more and more nervous. How can he convey his message, when he didn't have time to go over details? "It's your clone. Something happened to him; whatever you do, block out whatever you get from him." He wasn't satisfied with his explanation, but there wasn't much better he could do given the urgency of the situation.

Naruto, however, didn't see any urgency. He wanted answers; he was a long-time user of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and he has not seen any circumstance where Konohamaru's 'suggestion' would be anywhere useful. "Why should I? Nothing can happen to me, can it?"

"Yes, it can," Konohamaru pressed. Everyone's attention in the group turned to the two of them. Although his mind was racing, Konohamaru at least was able to notice that Moegi wasn't present, and felt a small twinge of relief. "I don't have time to explain."

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT!" Konohamaru yelled, even though he was only a few meters from Naruto's position. "AND DO IT NOW!" Tears were starting to well up in the young kid's eyes; Naruto finally grasped that his health, no, his life was on the line.

"OKAY, okay..." Naruto assured, then he closed his eyes and meditated, bracing himself for whatever experiences his clone was about to give him. It didn't take long for the first signs to come to him, but there was still no way to prepare for what he was about to receive.

It started out as a small amount of noise. A streak of color here, a incomplete thought there. Sometimes, a string of words would make it through, but nothing was nearly complete enough to allow a conclusion. But the images were getting brighter, the sounds louder, and the thoughts, as scrambled as they are, were starting to mix in with his own. It was taking a lot of focus just to decipher his own thoughts and senses from the mess. It was like a leak from a water tower; although there doesn't seem to be much water coming out, the pressure behind it makes it difficult to plug the whole; the water forces through and keeps on coming. It looks like he was going to have a rough ride for the next few moments, at least until the hypothetical 'water tower' ran out of contents.

Then the water tower burst, the leak becoming a forceful, fast-flowing, and painful rush.

The noise completely overwhelmed him; the visions, or at least jagged pieces of them, were appearing and disappearing rapidly, each bright enough to blind yet each flashing so quickly that nothing can be made of it. The sounds were deafening, an ongoing racket that may have caused his ears to ring, only to drown out the ringing. The thoughts completely drowned out his own; it was a struggle just to etch out a though that was his own, only to lose it in the mess as soon as it was formed. His emotions swayed violently, but the pain was ever present; it felt like his entire body was being torn to shreds. And through all that agony, Naruto was still conscious, should conscious be the correct term; the pain was bordering his limit and starting to crack at his already waning sanity.

"SHIT!" Naruto cursed loudly, as his body trembled uncontrollably, forcing him out of his seated position, his body now sprawled out on the ground. Shizune and Sakura both ran to each side of him, hoping to aid their partner and teammate in any way they can. Unfortunately, as much as they liked to, both realized that attempting treatment now could worsen the problem; they needed to let this pass before they could safely work on him. For now, Naruto's safety was directly depending on his own will. Hopefully, it will be enough.

Hopefully.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: FINALLY, I'm done with the freaking clones. It was getting tiring to describe all of their parts.


	8. Assistance

AUTHOR'S NOTE (17 Jan. 2009): Some minor corrections were made in the previous chapter thanks to Top's comment. If you just read the previous chapter, neglect the following part.

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**On Previous Chapter (correction)**

"Now tell me," Diabolos hissed, "how many of you are here, and why?"

"None of us are here," 'Naruto' pouted. "Why would anyone put up with this hellhole, anyway?" That earned him a slap on the cheek. Apparently, the device he saw was not going to be used until later.

"Stop being such a jackass," replied the tall man. "Tell me, or I'll turn your brain into mush"

'Naruto' eyed the device closely. He wanted to hold out as long as he can; it was fortunate that it wasn't the real thing here. Clones have had death blows before sent back to the original Naruto, and nothing bad happened out of that. How bad could this be? "Whatever," the clone stabbed back. "You look like a homosexual, by the way. Apply that device to yourself; you are already a fruit, and, with any luck, you'll turn into a vegetable as well." The longer he held out, the better the chance of getting vital information.

"Silence, you son of a bitch," Diabolos glared...

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**Now, onto this chapter:**

Naruto was now becoming overwhelmed. Whatever happened to his clone was now nearing the verge of completely destroying him. Blocking everything out was now impossible; his focus was lost, the thoughts and ideas that he had becoming overpowered, replaced by indistinct garbage. Emotions were running rampant, although the most prominent feeling was the inexplicable pain that racked at his body mercilessly. His motor control and sense of balance was completely lost; his mind was completely lost to the outside world. His willpower was no longer relevant.

"Why aren't you doing anything!?!" Konohamaru yelled at the two medics. His friend's life could be forfeit, and the only thing the two medics seemed to be doing is sitting idly by.

Both medics were forced to look on, kneeling by each side of Naruto. Both faces were downcast; they were both hopeful that he would pull through, but that hope is starting to dim. Sakura sighed. "We can't do anything."

"Even if we could," Shizune replied, "there is a high risk that doing anything would add additional stress to the chakra system; causing it to collapse. If you hadn't noticed, his chakra coils are going haywire."

"Of course I didn't notice it!" Konohamaru pleaded. "I can't see it! Do something! I don't want to see him die!"

"He won't die!" Sakura interjected, then her voice went quiet. "He's practically been to hell and back. If anyone can get through this, he can. All we can do is be there for him and hope."

"Please," Konohamaru sighed, his voice nearly inaudible, "be right." He grimaced in pain as a scream came out of Naruto's mouth. Tears started rolling down his cheeks as he saw his friend in agony, and he couldn't do anything about it. Here was his true sensei, the very one who inspired him in his ninja ways, fighting in what seemed to be a losing battle. The sight was unbearable.

"How long has it been?" Sakura asked.

"Three minutes," Shizune replied. "It doesn't seem to be waning either. If this goes on any longer..." She dare not complete the sentence.

Naruto heard none of that. Although he had only been in this state for such a short time, it was an eternity to him; his only memories, thoughts, and consciousness where of this mess. He didn't give up; the choice was never his to make. He started to think that he was going to die. _Wait a minute. _Naruto was able to contemplate. Suddenly realizing that he was, at least temporarily, able to even derive such a thought meant that, for now, he was regaining control. Did it mean that the whole ordeal was over, and he lived? No, the images and sounds were there, coming at him at the same speed as ever. Yet, the images were dimmer, the noise less painful. Speaking of pain, it too had started to diminish. But why?

Something felt uncomfortable about the whole situation. His emotions were starting to quiet down, and he was able to make out the sensation of cold on the back of his neck, presumably from the forest floor. But the images he was getting where starting to change. The pictures, symbols, and whatever else that he was 'seeing' were turning... red... The blues, greens, whites, greys; they were all shifting to a vivid shade of crimson. He started to contemplate why, and soon got his answer.

He wish he hadn't.

_**Do I have to do everything myself?**_

___Damn you, _Naruto thought. _Not here, not now._

_**You will find that this is a lot better than the alternative.**_

___What could be better than you controlling me, forcing me to attack all of my friends like before?_

_**Let me put it this way, **_his inner demon, the Kyuubi, explained. _**If you fail to gain control of your mind, both your life and mine will end. Not only that, but both your chakra and mine will overwhelm and destroy your body and be released all at once.**_

___You mean... _Naruto could tell that the demon was grinning. He couldn't see the demon's image, but it was as if he could feel the Kyuubi's emotions if they were strong enough. In this case, it was sadistic glee.

_**Boom. The explosion would do damage as far as Suna.**_

___Shit..._

_**Do not worry, kid. I have no desire right now to take control of your body... at least, not entirely...**_

___But how is this helping me? The only reason you are doing this is to control me!_

_**You are capable of talking to me, are you not? Was not your mind on the verge of collapse **__**just a few moments ago?**_

___Well... err... _Naruto was shocked at the Kyuubi's statement. Every thing he was getting from the clone was nearly gone; it actually took some concentration to make out that they were still coming. What was once overwhelming him had now simply become almost an afterthought.

_**I will not explain everything, just that my chakra is blocking your little signal. I suggest you get up and at least show your comrades that you, unfortunately, are not me...**_

___But... why..._

_**Don't think I am getting... sentimental. I just do not feel like dying. Besides, you should be thankful to me for saving your damned hide, whether either of us like it or not. Worthless idiot...**_

_Yeah... whatever... _Naruto replied, disinterested, before opening his eyes.

"Naruto, are you all right?" Konohamaru asked reaching for Naruto's shoulder. Naruto rolled away before Konohamaru could get a grasp. Had Shizune not jumped out of the way, he may have knocked her over.

Naruto, now out of Konohamaru's reach, finally pushed himself up. Although he was able to stand for a moment, exhaustion took over and he knelt back down, his hands on his knees. "Please, don't touch me right now. You'll burn yourself." Although the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't visible, the familiar hot sensation, akin to a bad case of sunburn, had covered his entire body.

"What do you mean..." Konohamaru asked before looking into Naruto's eyes. Instead of their usual blue, however, Naruto's irises were a blood red, his pupils turned into slits. The whisker marks that gave Naruto his unique look had also thickened and darkened. Konohamaru stepped back.

_I heard stories, but... _Konohamaru thought to himself. _So Naruto really contains the demon fox in him. Those eyes... is he still Naruto? Or... _ Naruto noticed the scared look on Konohamaru's face, and smiled a toothy grin. Which scared Konohamaru even more; Naruto's canines, although usually a little longer than most people's, had elongated and sharpened, a look that could only be matched by Kiba's feral dentures. Naruto closed his mouth, his smile changing into an awkward smirk.

"I'm still in control," Naruto assured. "It just seems that the Kyuubi's chakra is blocking out all that weird crap that my clone gave me..." He got on his feet and brushed off his knees. He didn't bother to think about the reason behind such an action; all the dirt had accumulated on his back, but he didn't care.

Sakura, after noting what Naruto had said, took a closer look at him. Like Konohamaru, she too noticed the changes that Naruto had undergone. "But why? Why is your clone... and how is this...?"

"How should I know?" Naruto snarled back. "I was dead last at the academy, remember?"

"I have a theory," Shizune spoke up. The others turned to her, save for Moegi; she had earlier run off to fetch some food for the camp, saving her from observing this entire ordeal. "Every person has a unique chakra; between any two people, or between any two living things, there is always at least one property of chakra that varies between them. It's similar akin to the voice of a human or a fingerprint; there are no two alike."

"I understand that," Naruto interjected. Konohamaru nodded in agreement.

"The only way to get two beings with identical signatures," Shizune continued, "is to clone them. While this typically relates to the dark arts of genetic manipulation, it applies to shadow clones as well."

"I figured that," Naruto stated. "I'm not sure why..." Like his energy, his patience was wearing a bit thin. Although he didn't blame Shizune for anything, he tended to be a bit short-fused around people when he felt as tired as he did now. It didn't help that his skin burned.

"Let me finish," Shizune snapped harshly. "There is no sure explanation as to why clones are capable of spreading their experiences to other clones. While theories exist; there is always one snag; why experiences are distributed to all clones, as well as the other user, while other people in the vicinity are completely unaware of it. There is one theory that is worth merit, however; chakra resonance."

"Chakra... resonance?" Sakura asked. She had never heard the term before, and this next bit of information could come in handy.

"Basically," explained Shizune "A person's body is sensitive to it's own chakra. It is the reason why some people are capable of determining with absolute certainty if a ranged elemental attack, for example, has hit its target, even if there is no other way to sense it. In the same way, I hypothesize that a clone gives off a final burst of chakra when it is terminated, either though annulment of the technique or if the clone is defeated. The information and experiences that the clone received are sent using this chakra, akin to a radio wave. Only others with the exact same chakra are sensitive enough to pick up enough details of the wave to decipher the experiences."

"Wait..." requested Naruto. "So our chakra is used to communicate?"

"It's just a theory," Shizune admitted.

"So the reason that I'm shielded from my clone," Naruto guessed, "is because the Kyuubi's chakra mixing in with my own reduced my sensitivity?"

"We believe so," Shizune replied.

"But what do you think caused the clone to become such a garbled mess to begin with?" Sakura asked.

"I think I can explain..." started Konohamaru. Before he could continue, however, four ninja came into view.

"So I can assume that the mission is off," Shikamaru stated. He, along with Ino, Udon, and Moegi, the last of whom was carrying a spear with a dozen fish impaled on it, had just returned.

"Not quite," Konohamaru admitted.

"So we do have a fight on our hands..."

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_Earlier that morning..._

"Carrier pigeon!" said a cheerful Jonin ninja. His attire was perhaps among the most... disturbing... of all ninja in Konohagakure; a green, skin-tight, spandex jumpsuit complete with orange leg warmers. He wore his black hair in a perfectly smooth, glossy bowl cut, and the top of his face was accented with inhumanly large, bushy eyebrows. Only the slightly duller shade of green that made up his flak jacket slightly lessened the eye strain of anyone who spotted him. "Tsunade, you've got a message!"

"Lee," Tsunade replied. Rock Lee, just returning from a mission in the land of Waves, gleefully took the job of being Tsunade's assistant while Shizune was away on a mission. Even something as boring as this, his enthusiasm was overflowing. Tsunade, sitting at her desk, couldn't figure out whether to be proud or annoyed of this outlandish nature. In either case, Rock Lee was nearly the splitting image of Maito Gai, his sensei. Maito Gai's personality didn't rub off on Rock Lee; it penetrated every core of his being. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely disturbing nonetheless. "Even I didn't expect you to be so enthusiastic when all you do is paper work."

"The springtime of youth never stops!" Rock Lee cheered. "The flames will never be put out; not by flood, not by drought, and not by paper!" Tsunade couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. Rock Lee walked behind the desk and opened the window. In flew a pigeon with a small sheet of paper wrapped and tied around one of its legs. It was unusual that the message wasn't placed in a container made for this purpose rather than being haphazardly wrapped around the leg, but sometimes ninjas are forced to improvise. Once the pigeon landed on the desk, Tsunade carefully removed the paper from its leg and allowed it to fly back out of the office and into the nearly cloudless skies. She unrolled the small parcel and squinted to read the words.

"Who is it from?" Rock Lee asked.

"Shikamaru. There on an investigative mission in the Land of Wind."

"The flames of youth surely burn in him!" Rock Lee chanted. His enthusiasm was contagious. And obnoxious. Tsunade chose to ignore the words and focus on the parchment that she now held in front of her face.

"Their mission was successful. The structure by Suna is most definitely a threat, likely an S-class. However, instead of returning to me as ordered, Shikamaru ordered a continued investigation. Although I'm disappointed, I trust his judgment; he has never been the type to waste energy on anything. Lee!"

"YES!" shouted Lee, causing Tsunade to wince slightly in pain.

"Keep it down, will you!?! Lee, get Gai and the rest of your old team together. You are to leave to the Land of Wind as soon as possible. Do not report to me; leave immediately. Shikamaru is predicting a large scale battle, and they will need all the help they can get. Hopefully, Sunagakure has got the sense to help as well. This is an urgent, A-rank mission. I'll send a carrier pigeon ahead of you to alert Shikamaru's team of your departure."

"YES!" Lee's volume did not dim in the slightest. He turned around and sprinted out of the office, leaving Tsunade leaning on her desk, her hand grasping her head in pain. She couldn't be around Lee for five minutes without getting a headache. She had to endure him for an hour, and the result was a full-blown migraine. "Oh, damn this headache. Jiraiya, if I ever see you again in the next life, I'll kick your ass for convincing me to take this job..."

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_Presently..._

Naruto's ordeal was over, and his mind was, true to the demon's words, intact. He still needed more information from the Kyuubi, but not wasn't the time; Konohamaru had just completed the narrative of his clone's experiences, and Shikamaru was starting to formulate and explain a plan of action. Instead, he simply suppressed the chakra, returning his body back to its normal state, and saved his would-be inner conversation for a later time.

"Given from what I heard," Shikamaru started, "a battle will be ensuing shortly, one on a scale not seen since the Shinobi War. Five hundred units, versus twelve of us, four of us genin..."

"Twelve?" Udon interjected. "I only counted eight..."

"I just got a message via carrier pigeon that Maito Gai's team will be assisting us, and will arrive shortly. Hopefully, we'll have help from Suna, so that will greatly improve our chances."

"But, how will they know?" Konohamaru stated. Shikamaru, anticipating the question, answered quickly.

"The same reason that Gai's team is coming. I predicted that we would have to fight, and alerted the Kages of both Konoha and Suna. While most of Konoha's battle force is exhausted with the oncoming of the exams, we should have better luck with Suna. Since they are closer, they probably also have had time to properly mobilize. I have already come up with a simple strategy that should help us all."

"And what is that?" Naruto asked, expecting a long-winded oral essay covering every possible circumstance.

"Divide and conquer," Shikamaru replied.

"And..." Naruto prompted.

"That's it." A long pause.

"What?" Naruto glared. "What about your oh-so-perfect, oh-so-nuanced plans that you always come up with?"

"I'm surprised you even know the definition of 'nuanced'," Sakura teased, her response an annoyed glare.

"Our opponents are too numerous for a strict plan," Shikamaru explained, "and we do not know anything specific about our enemy. Therefore, we'll be far more successful if we remain flexible and apply a consistent strategy. I assume that, although the 'Temperance Generator' was ordered to be shut off, I don't think that is to be taken literally. I believe that there are two functions that the Generator undergoes; suppression and control. The suppressant, the part of the generator that is used to keep the forces contained while not active, was shut off. The controller, however, is probably still active. That means that the forces will operate under one collective order; the ability for each to act independently, therefore, should be hampered significantly. Therefore, we need to separate the forces and take each unit separately. Out-think each opponent; it is doubtful that any one of us could simply overpower them. Rely on cunning to take down one opponent at a time.

"Also, stay on the move. With only a small number of us, it is likely that the forces will congregate near those of us with particular strength and try to overwhelm us. Keep moving, and do not get caught battling multiple units!"

"I do have one question." Moegi raised her hand, a habit she gained from her Academy days. "Why explain it now? Why not wait until Gai's team gets here?"

"Easy," Shikamaru smirked, a rare show of emotion. "That's the way that team always fights; they specialize in one-on-one confrontations. I'll simply tell them to do what they always do; they'll know the reason."

"Even with those numbers," Udon uttered, "that would be roughly 42 of them to every one of us, assuming that Suna doesn't arrive immediately. I don't like our chances."

"But we have the flames of youth on our side!" called a voice from deep in the forest.

"Gai's here," Ino sighed. Sakura and Shizune looked down onto the forest floor and shook their heads. True, they needed help, but couldn't it come from someone less... annoying?__Unfortunately, Maito Guy and his younger protégé, Rock Lee, the two green beasts of Konohagakure, were the first two present and accounted for and, of course, each had raced the other to see who would reach the destination first.

"Do you people have any idea of energy conservation?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Our flames will never die!" Maito Guy cheered. "We have limitless energy!"

"YOSH!" chanted Rock Lee, giving his sensei their trademark 'Good Guy' pose; a thumbs-up accompanied by a wide smile. "We will be victorious!"

"We're doomed," groaned Naruto. "We'll be annoyed to death before we even get a chance to fight."

"Then be glad we're here." Two other shinobi landed into the clearing, stopping to each side of the two green beasts.

"Neji, Tenten!" Naruto cheered. "Now this is more like it."

"Oh, Naruto," Lee cried. "How dare you not acknowledge Gai-sensei and myself!"

"It's okay, Lee!" Maito Gai assured, his enthusiasm completely baffling the other members of the group. It was almost unheard of that these two were in an emotional state that was anywhere near appropriate for the situation, and today was no different. "You know what you must do."

"Yes, sir!" Rock Lee cried. "I must train with everything I have so I can surpass Naruto and earn his respect!"

"That's the spirit Lee!"

"I hate to break up your conversation," Neji stated. His pupils had disappeared entirely, and the veins around his eyes had bulged. He had activated his bloodline limit, the Byakugan, and was staring in the direction of the structure. Although the structure itself was completely obstructed by the trees, they were no obstacle to the Hyuuga clan's famed ability, and Neji was considered a prodigy. "But our battle may soon start. Shikamaru, what is the best course of action?"

"Do what you always do," Shikamaru assured.

"All right, kids!" Gai yelled. "You heard the man. Pick your enemy and show them the fruits of your training. Show that nothing can overcome a ninja in the springtime of youth!"

"We're not kids anymore," Tenten sighed, shaking her head. "We're Chuunin, and Neji's a Jounin rank."

"My students have grown up so much!" Gai shouted, tears rolling steadily down his cheeks. Even Neji couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed by this outburst of energy. Apparently, it's impossible, even for a Hyuuga, to get used to a teacher that constantly acts so childish.

"We haven't mobilized together in nearly a year," Neji deadpanned, "and you have not changed a bit in that entire time." He turned his focus back on the distant structure. "Shikamaru, I can't focus on this kind of distance for very long."

"Tell me what you see," Shikamaru replied.

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Meanwhile, inside the cone, Hayashi had his work cut out for him. He was the place's top software administrator, in charge of every computer in the area, but that didn't make his job any easier. He diligently worked the communications panel, making sure that what he was about to say only be broadcast to areas where a large number of workers were present. He wanted to make sure to keep the message from security personnel and, most of all, from Diabolos. If someone got the message that wasn't supposed to, the source of the transmission would be easily identified. Hayashi should know; he was among the team that designed the system so long ago. Worst of all, Diabolos had the place in lock-down, and that also meant that added security measures were placed upon the communications network as well as most of the software; it was difficult to make the necessary tweaks to prevent detection.

That is why he was so glad that he put a few, 'loopholes', in the software in case an opportunity like this arose. In addition to allowing full operation even during a lock-down, he also designed the system so that he could remote-connect into the communications room from another office down the hall, where he had secretly installed a terminal that was hardwired to the main communications server, which would grant him a few more seconds to escape should his handiwork be detected. With one final keystroke, he activated the communications system and hoped for the best. He served his purpose here, and now it was time to get out, and take as many people as possible with him.

"Attention all personnel," shouted various loudspeakers in the area. Hayashi was finally online and was giving his long-rehearsed announcement though a microphone attached to his terminal. "There has been a security breach on level two hundred sixteen, and an unidentified biohazard has been released into the central air circulation system. Prepare evacuation immediately; seek out shelter in the forest and do not come back. Ever." He hoped that this last word will get people to realize their perhaps only chance of freedom from this prison. Now that whatever security that had not been shipped outside has their focus on the 'accident' that occurred around the central pillar, Konohamaru's doing, the chances of escape could not have been better.

"Lastly," the announcement went on, "If you encounter anyone that has a weird purple, gray, or brown glowing cloud around them, stay as far away from them as possible. I don't care if they look like your old great-grandmother; even they are highly dangerous and will not hesitate to kick your ass. Evacuate, now!" His announcement completed, he powered off the machine using the quickest method possible: using a sledgehammer that he had conveniently placed on the other side of the room a long time ago. He then darted out of the room into the hall and vaulted, feet first, though the window. He had a long ways to go before he made it to the bottom; he just hoped he would be in time. He had a trick up his sleeve that he had been so anxious to unleash in the public eye, one that no shinobi presently living has ever seen.

_Although I wonder if that old geezer is still alive..._

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"How many of them are there?" Shikamaru asked. He, like Neji, was standing erect, staring into the direction of the structure. Unlike Neji, however, Shikamaru's sight was completely obstructed by the trees. He didn't have a Byakugan. Then again, most people didn't.

"I can only see a small amount of area at a time at this distance," Neji replied. "However, I would estimate that it is in the hundreds. Four, five hundred, I think."

"The documents that we were able to retrieve support that," Shikamaru explained, directing himself towards Gai's team. "They stated that five hundred combat units were in standby. We can also assume that some of the regular internal security guards are also among them. How strong are they?" He turned back to Neji.

"It's difficult to explain," stated Neji. "One one hand, their actual chakra capacity seems to be quite low, each one's stature varies but none are atypical for low-rank ninja, and none seem to possess any sort of weapon."

"Then we'll wipe the desert floor with them," interrupted Naruto, sitting cross-legged on the forest floor.

"I'm not finished," Neji snapped. He hated it when someone interrupted him, especially if that someone is a genin named Naruto. "While their reserves are low, probably at a D-rank at best, they seem to be giving off enough chakra to be easily visible to the naked eye."

"How is that possible?" Udon asked. "Doesn't it take a lot of chakra to become visible?"

"Yeah," Neji continued. "Which means that they reproduce chakra at an astounding rate, to the point where it leaks steadily from their body."

"I haven't seen that before," Naruto replied. Shikamaru shook his head, then explained.

"They were probably the results of some of the experiments that occurred in there, like the ones that Konohamaru observed. Diabolos probably used his brand of torture to manipulate them into their current mental state. However, the experimentation, although it increased chakra production and nature, it did not allow the body to store all that extra production."

"Instead," Neji concluded, staring through his Byakugan, "the chakra escapes the body, some of it condensing around him, like some sort of... cloak..."

_An artificial... demon cloak? _Naruto thought to himself. He shuddered at the thought.

_**Even I dislike the sound of that. **_That voice again.

___Since when did I ask you!?!_

_**Since when do you ask me anything? **_asked the Kyuubi, annoyed.

___Stop playing games with me, fox! And you seem to be awful talkative lately._

_I__**t is because of your... state... that you cannot put me away.**_

___Shut up fox. Once I'm back at full strength..._

_**Then I better be brief, kid. I can feel the chakra coming from our enemies even from in here, and I don't like it. They are not too strong, but... something about that energy seems... familiar... **_The Kyuubi left Naruto alone with one last warning.

_**Do not rely on me on this fight. I do not think my chakra will be too effective against that... energy... I cannot interfere...**_

__"Naruto!" Konohamaru shouted, waiving his hands in front of Naruto's eyes.

"I'm up!" Naruto snapped. "I only phased out there for a second."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, Konohamaru." However, Naruto was forced to ponder his last conversation with the Kyuubi. He was disturbed by several facts. He had probably talked to his tenant more in the last week than he did the previous three years, yet the fox made no attempt to take him over, escape, or anything worth being suspicious about. There was no doubt that the fox's yearn for freedom was still present; it is just that whatever they were facing had greater priority. This wasn't comforting at all, though. The fact that the fox was so preoccupied with their own survival meant only one thing: whatever they were facing is such a threat that it even has the demon worried.

No, it probably knew that Naruto would take care of this and just wanted to see the teen get the snot beaten out of him in the meantime. That demon was more than sadistic enough for that. But something about this whole thing still seemed a little... odd.

"Stop snapping out like that!" Konohamaru smacked Naruto in the face.

"Sorry." The reply was soft and barely coherent. For some reason, Naruto was able to remember the entire dialogue between him and his demon, word for word. And there was one thing, something apparently insignificant, that caught his attention. One sentence that the Kyuubi said.

_'Then I better be brief, kid.'_

_That was definitely an odd response, _Naruto thought to himself. _Usually, any time I make a threat, he just laughs at it. But this time, he took it as a genuine warning. Why, when I can't suppress him unless I'm at full... _His eyes widened. _...strength...could it be...?_

"Naruto?" Ino asked. Her teammate's attention had drifted off again, and the medics were starting to worry about his health. It was to their surprise, then, that he suddenly jumped up and ran to give himself a small distance between him and his teammates. He was still in the clearing, in full view of everyone else.

"Please..." Naruto muttered to himself as he positioned his hands in one of his most recognized seals; the one for his shadow clone technique.

**"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **he yelled. A large puff of smoke filled the clearing, causing a few of the ninja to cough. Most of them anticipated three, four clones. Shikamaru shook his head, knowing of the amount of wasted energy that could have instead been used against their incoming threat. Naruto was more optimistic; he hoped for eight clones.

When the smoke finally cleared, there were six Narutos on the forest floor. Sakura sighed, thinking that, at least for now, Naruto's energy was better than before. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon all looked disappointed; they were hoping for more.

"UP HERE!" shouted a chorus of voices from the canopy, forcing the group to look up. Everyone's eyes widened, even Naruto's, when their gaze fell upon a sea of orange and black. Every large branch near the clearing had its strength tested with the weight of numerous clones. There weren't eight clones, or fifteen.

Naruto's technique resulted in forty-five clones, and none of them looked like the least amount of energy had been spent. Everyone stared at the clones; even the bunshins themselves stared at each other in amazement, before all of them vanished in their own, smaller puff of smoke.

"I'm back," said the last standing Naruto, a wide grin on his face. He hadn't felt this good in far too long. Now, he was ready to kick some ass. His enthusiasm was shared by the youngest three, and Shikamaru even had a pronounced smirk on his face.

"And so am I." A shadowy figure was hidden behind a layer of brush towards the interior of the forest. "Naruto, I see you are as surprising as ever." The others, startled by the voice, turned to its owner, although they couldn't make out any distinguishing features.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. The voice seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

"Aw, how could you?" said the figure, his voice coated with fake pain. The figure walked though the brush, his image now fully visible to the entire group. He wore the standard outfit that most high-ranking Konohagakure ninja wore; dark blue shirts and pants, and a green flak vest. However, he wore a cloth mask that covered his mouth, and his hitai-ite was slanted to cover his left eye. His hair was a stark white, and was directed straight up. Various parts of his arms and legs were wrapped in bandages. In his right hand, he carried an orange-bound book, one of the sensual "Icha-Icha" books that Jiraiya, the late perverted hermit, authored. "You can't tell me you don't recognize your own sensei, idiot." In spite of the mask that was covering his face, it was obvious that the man was smiling warmly.

"Ka...Kakashi-sensei!?!" Naruto gapped, his body paralyzed from the shock. "We thought you were dead!"

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following is not part of the original story. It was just a potential conversation between Naruto and the fox that came to my head while I was writing this. Enjoy this little one-shot, although neither of them are truly in character.**

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_**Why are you so insolent, brat? **_The demon, laying down behind the cage, coming as close to eye-level as the giant fox can get to the shinobi, was glaring at his tenant. _**You must know that I am a destroyer of entire nations, capable of leveling towns with a simple swipe of a tail.**_

___And one tail can summon tsunamis and level mountains. Yeah, yeah, I know._

_**Sometimes, I'll let the village burn into ashes. Others, I'll just trample, feeling everything, everyone crush beneath my feet. A few of the seaside settlements simply found themselves under a crushing blanket of seawater. But what I did to one village is something I doubt I will attempt again.**_

___The great demon, restraining himself? _Naruto laughed. _What is this world coming to?_

_**Silence, brat. It was the village hidden in the mountains.**_

___I remember reading about that, _Naruto recalled. _That was the last village you attacked before Konohagakure. They say not a trace of the village was left, except for debris and scrap materials. What did you do?_

_**I devoured the entire village. Every person: man, woman, and child. I ingested as many of them alive as I could. Oh, how they went down so pleasantly.**_

___That's just... disturbing._

_**That's because you're human, kid. You never know life's simple pleasures.**_

___But then why won't you do it again?_

_**Ugh... Because some things did not go down so well. I had indigestion for over a fortnight.**_

___What do you... _Then Naruto remembered something. _But what happened to the buildings? They said that nothing was left. You didn't..._

_**As I said... some things did not go down so well... **_The fox's body and face stiffened up from what appeared to be pain.

___YOU ATE THEM TOO!?! Ouch..._

_**Do not remind me...**_


	9. Preparation

"Ka...Kakashi-sensei!?!" Naruto gapped, his body paralyzed from the shock. "We thought you were dead!"

Kakashi continued to pace slowly, until he stood at the center of the group, the others standing around him, forming a somewhat malformed circle with him near the center. "We'll, I'm not. What made you think that I was?"

Most of them stood silently, contemplating the words. Sakura, however, was livid; a vain on her forehead was visible, and she pointed her finger at her former sensei, her arm trembling from her pent-up rage. "You idiot! The entire village thinks you're dead! You fought with Pain right after getting out of the hospital, and there was no trace of you. When our searches came up fruitless, we assumed the worst!"

"Aye, you people always underestimate me," sighed Kakashi. One would think that he wasn't grasping the gravity of the situation, but he always acted a bit... distant. "I was out for a few weeks. If it weren't for my nin-ken, I surely would be dead."

Udon, always the calculative type, sat back on the earthen ground and brought his hands up into a thinking position. When he thinks things over, he prefers to conserve as much energy for the effort as possible; standing was wasteful. "Your nin-ken? Your ninja dogs...?" He scratched the side of his nose and sniffled, trying to repress a runny nose. He always got those at the most inconvenient times.

"Yeah," Kakashi explained. "I don't really know the details, being unconscious at the time, but my dogs managed to carry me away from the village and helped me recover. I was out of contention for a while, but I managed to pull through."

"But why the secrecy?" Naruto pleaded. Although he was tempted to follow Udon's lead, he ultimately decided to remain standing. "Why not contact the village once you were all better?"

"A few high-ranked members of the village, the Hokage included, know of my survival." Kakashi turned his eyes to Shizune, who was sitting a small distance from the rest of the group, and the others turned their heads towards the medic in unison. She nodded her head, confirming that she, too, knew of Kakashi's survival. "However, I specifically requested that the news be kept away from the general public. The reason..." He pointed in the direction of the structure. "...is that."

"You were investigating as well?" Shikamaru guessed. "If you hadn't noticed, none of us are wearing our hitai-ite." He pointed to his arm, where he usually wore the symbol of the village; it was, as Shikamaru alluded, conspicuously absent. "We didn't want our mission to be linked to our village. I'm assuming that the reason you cut off communication to Konohagakure was for a similar reason?"

"Yeah," nodded Kakashi. Shikamaru pressed on.

"Then why do you still possess your hitai-ite? I don't mean to doubt your judgment, but I wonder how you went into the place without it being spotted."

"Because I never went in." This gave Kakashi a few confused looks, so he explained, turning his body to face each one of his group. "I merely observed from the exterior, and kept a line of communication with one of the workers. More accurately, he kept the line of communication with me; considering the tight security of the place, I can't imagine how he managed to pull that off."

Konohamaru's eyes widened; it took a few moments, but he finally grasped the reality of the situation. "I bet that's the same guy that helped us for our mission. I don't know how, but he directed us around perfectly. We never got detected."

"So you met him," Kakashi replied, smiling. Or, at least, had an expression that could almost arguable be considered smiling, considering his mouth was always covered by that mask of his. "I managed to keep contact with the higher-ups in the village, so I was alerted when your mission was drawn up. The message was relayed to my contact and he took care of all of the details. Still, I'm amazed that he pulled together such an intricate plan in a short amount of time. I swear, he may be a rival to Shikamaru."

"I doubt that," Konohamaru replied, grinning. He crossed his arms in defiance. "He's nothing like Shikamaru. Shikamaru is too serious and actually dresses sensibly." That response resulted in a few members of the group chuckling, but Shikamaru ignored the statement completely. Apparently, what people thought of him was, as seems to be his choice of terminology, troublesome. Konohamaru continued. "So you were working with Hayashi, then. I wondered how he got the information about us from."

"But things didn't go quite as planned," Shikamaru interrupted. His attention was no longer on the structure but now back on Kakashi. "We will have a fight on our hands."

"So, one of you was detected," Kakashi stated. His eyes seemed to wander, no focusing on anything. Not the structure, not any member of the group, not even a particular branch; his eyes just seemed to drift, meandering around. "I'm assuming Diabolos is pulling out all of the stops."

"Seems like it," Naruto replied, his face stern. His mind was on a roller coaster ride trying to fathom what exactly caused his earlier predicament. This mission wasn't routine. Then again, trying to infiltrate a cone over two kilometers high really can not be called routine, at least by any sane person.

"Judging by what I heard, you plan on separating the group and attacking them individually." Everyone nodded in agreement. "I, uh, don't think that would be too effective."

"What do you know about our opponents?" Shikamaru inquired. While most showed a small amount of surprise at the statement, Shikamaru just contemplated. He thought it foolhardy to expect anything out of Kakashi; he was just too unpredictable at times. Kakashi's shrewdness, although maybe not quite at the level of the Nara, was definitely respectable.

"That they reproduce chakra at an insane rate, they are shielded by some sort of chakra cloak, and that they have very rapid healing capabilities, even beyond Naruto's."

A subtle mixture of horror and depression hit a few members of the group, particularly the medic-nins. As almost expected, Naruto was unfazed; either he already figured something like this, or he was completely oblivious to the repercussions of this last statement. If it was the latter, Tenten's remark fixed that. "So they are virtually indestructible."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the word, but not nearly to the extent that one would expect. Apparently, Naruto had a shrewd side to him as well. "Not quite," Kakashi affirmed. "But lesser blows will heal in a matter of seconds. The only to take an enemy out is to deal a single fatal blow, either to the head or to the heart. Finding a way to drain their blood instantly would work too, but don't expect to slit their throat and move on; since they heal so fast, it would take several attempts to finally defeat them, and you likely will be given only a small handful of opportunities before you end up attracting an audience, so choose a better strategy if you have one. And you better well have one."

"What if we get a bunch of them together and blow 'em up?" Naruto cheered, spreading his hands apart to portray a large explosion. He slightly lost his balance during his gesture, and swung a foot back to regain his balance, the sight a welcome bit of comic relief to most.

"Not many of us have explosive techniques, and your rasenshuriken, if I remember, is a forbidden technique," Kakashi replied. "But hitting multiple enemies with a single, wide-spread ninjutsu is not a bad idea. But remember that if the attack doesn't kill them, you will have to be swift with a follow-up strike."

To Kakashi's surprise, Naruto smirked. A devious expression that harkened to Naruto's pranking days and easily enough to give those who knew him well, Kakashi not excluded, a small trickle of fear. But as quickly as it came, the expression vanished as Naruto refocused. "But what about the cloak that surrounds them?" He asked. He knew about chakra cloaks, especially ones that burn anything that attempted to penetrate them. He possessed the ability, er, tendency, to summon one in times of stress, and he hated it. "If we can't touch them..."

"The cloak isn't that intense," Kakashi stated. "It will take a few hits to start feeling its effects. If you feel your hands or body start to feel unusually warm, retreat and allow yourself a few minutes to recuperate and allow the energy to diffuse back out. The enemy is quite slow; if you haven't noticed, they are still about two kilometers from our current position."

"OK, change of plans," Shikamaru announced to the rest of the team. Everyone stood at attention. "We will split into three teams, each with three members. Naruto, Ino, and Lee will be in charge of the west front. You guys will be covering the most ground; you are in charge of about half of the circumference of the structure. Ino, do not use your mind-body switch technique, and use your other telepathic techniques with utmost caution; your primary role is to support the others using medical ninjutsu and your supplies. Gai, can I request that Lee take off any training aids that he has and be given authorization to open at least two celestial gates should the need arise?"

"Well," Gai stated, "although he is my prized pupil, he is now a chuunin; I no longer truly have authority to give him permission; the celestial gates are a forbidden technique, but he must make the decision on his own."

"Thank you, sir!" Lee cheered, tears rolling from his eyes.

_Here we go again..._ Sakura sighed.

"You are my prized pupil. You deserve no less!" He gave his patented "Nice Guy" thumbs-up pose, now complemented by a wink.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" Rock Lee copied the same pose.

"Your welcome, Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Will you both shut up!?!" Naruto yelled. Both dropped their poses and Gai glared at Naruto.

"You will never appreciate the flames of youth!"

"Moving on..." Shikamaru sighed, before turning to Shizune. "Shizune, you will be with Tenten and Neji, and cover our current quarter, the southeast. Neji, you may use your jyuuken style, but only aim for fatal blows; you will end up with severe injuries to your hands if you attempt to close too many tenketsus at once. Sakura, Gai, you are with me, covering the northeast. Any questions so far?"

"Yes," Neji replied. "Why is Lee's team covering such a large area. Even with Lee, taking on two hundred fifty enemies is a large task, especially since Naruto and Ino aren't nearly as proficient as Lee at taijutsu, and those cloaks they have probably reduce the effectiveness of ninjutsu."

"That is correct," Kakashi replied. "Naruto's rasengan would be a risky bet. It would connect, but the form would be unlikely to hold for too long, unraveling and potentially hurting the user. But you clearly don't know what he was doing while he was gone during the summer." He nodded at Naruto; apparently, he managed to get some forbidden information. But he was bound to find out anyway; he was Kakashi Hatake, after all.

"But Lee is still stronger," Neji stated.

"You clearly don't understand," Shizune stated. She smiled and narrowed her eyes, directing them at Neji. The look startled Naruto; it was similar to the sadistic look that Tsunade sometimes gave when she was planning something particularly devilish. "What Naruto is capable of now would make Lee's fight against Gaara look like a pillow fight."

"He can open the celestial gates!?!" Gai cried. He couldn't image anyone learning the technique, save for his prized pupil. And it took Rock Lee years to open five gates. Naruto was that far in only a period of a few months?

"No," Naruto replied. His eyes were level, but he was smirking. "I know what you are thinking; that much power requires a hell of a lot of chakra. It's too bad chakra isn't what I use..."

"What do you mean!?!" Lee shouted. "If you can surely beat me at my best, then you must be truly alight in flames of..."

"Thanks, but..." Naruto interjected, rubbing the back of his head. He then grew serious and met eye to eye with Lee. "The exact details are an S-class secret. I cannot let in the specifics of the technique to anyone other than a high-ranking Konoha official."

"What I can state, however..." Naruto's grin returned. "...is that you will be seeing it soon. My first time using it in a real mission, too. Lee, prepare to be amazed."

"Yosh!" cried Lee with an enthusiasm that drown out any sense of normality from the meeting. That is, if there was any sense to begin with.

"But," Neji stated. "They are still covering a very large area; three people will not be enough to stop their advance."

"And that's where the remaining four of you come into play," Shikamaru explained. Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, and Kakashi turned their heads to the unofficial leader of the mission. "You will travel to Suna, and alert the officials there that the attack has begun, and we request their immediate assistance. You must make haste; we cannot afford any delay, and the forty-five minute round trip may still be too much, but we don't have any better means of help. Unfortunately, Naruto, Lee, Ino, you may be in a hard battle for a long time. Just don't take on more of them than you can handle; don't try to be a hero or anything."

"I think I can make things a little faster for you, Kakashi," Naruto interjected. Before anyone could react, he bit the top of his left thumb, causing it to trickle a small amount of blood, put his hands together in a string of hand seals, then thrust his left palm onto the ground. A net of kanji and other symbols, some completely unidentifiable, appeared on the dirt, and a puff of smoke engulfed the area. In the haze, a blurry silhouette flashed into existence. When the smoke lifted...

"Yo!" A red toad, accented with black marks on its head and all four legs, and standing at nearly six meters tall, was sitting right in the middle of the clearing and taking up a good deal of space in the middle of the group. He wore a dark blue jacket and a katana, nearly as long as he was tall, was strapped to his back.

"Wow, you've grown!" Konohamaru gaped. "The last time I saw you, you still sat on Naruto's head!"

"You can talk?" Moegi wondered. Of the group, only she and Udon had never seen a summon up close like this.

"Yup!" stated the toad, addressing both genin at the same time.

"Gamakichi," Naruto commanded. The toad frowned; it was rare that Naruto, even in the heat of battle, neglected the usually obligatory greeting, friendly chat, and food talk. "I need you to take Kakashi, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi to Sunagakure, pronto!"

"Yes, sir!" Gamakichi saluted, then turned to Kakashi. The other three were already in front of the toad, raring to go. "Time to hop on!" Kakashi and Konohamaru jumped up and landed on the toad's back, one beside the other. "Take it easy; I'm not a carriage, ya know!" Gently grabbing the other two in each arm, Gamakuchi hopped off into the distance.

"Everyone, you know your roles," Shikamaru commanded. "Our battle starts now. Get to your positions and fight!"

"Before we go," Neji interrupted as Naruto's groups exited into the desert, "what are our chances of succeeding this mission?"

Shikamaru's face suddenly fell, catching Neji and the rest of his and Shikamaru's groups by surprise. They didn't need to hear the words, but they got them anyway. "My father always told me that, as long as we anticipate our enemies units, we will always win. He also said that, for a Nara, miracles never occur because they are never needed. I can say without a doubt that he was wrong on the first point, and I sincerely hope that the second is wrong as well."

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"What is our status, Temari?" A red-headed young man was sitting at a large office desk, its surface completely barren save for a single sheet of paper and an ornate metal ink pen. He wore a dark red robe, the expected attire for the Kazekage, the leader of Sunagakure and, in political power, only a notch or two from the Feudal Lord of the Wind Country himself. His eyes were surrounded in black, giving him the appearance of a raccoon or tanuuki, and he had the word "love" in kanji as a red scar above his left eye.

"Our troops are on stand by and ready to strike at any time," Temari replied, leaning against Gaara's desk. The fan-wielder of the village and one of the strongest wind-manipulators in the land, her power was far fiercer than her appearance would give off. And her appearance, in terms of toughness was no slouch; she wore black skin tight pants that, in spite of the dark color, showed her legs' muscular tone. Her lavender t-shirt was more loose-fitting, but her chest's curvature was still quite visible underneath the cloth. She wasn't nearly as 'well-endowed' as Tsunade, and would prefer it that way. Her arms, no less imposing than her legs, were smooth; even a warrior like her had to take care of her hygiene. "Gaara, we can invade at any time."

"No, we need to wait for conformation," Gaara replied. "I trust that our source will be reliable and prompt."

"If I'm not intruding on anything," Temari asked, "just who is this 'source'?"

"A Konoha shinobi by the name of Nara Shikamaru," Gaara replied, narrowing his eyes.

"That lazy-ass oaf!?!" Temari's eyes twitched in annoyance. She walked up to the desk and slammed her hands onto the wood surface. "He'd be the type that would fall asleep in the middle of the mission! How can we trust that he will be punctual?"

"Temari, silence!" Gaara blasted, causing his sister to retreat hastily into a chair. When Gaara was angry, he was pissed; his temper, like that of his sister, was an on-off switch. There was no such thing to him as being a 'little' piqued. "In case your memory fails you, he did manage to kill an Akatsuki member essentially single-handedly, and contributed to dispatching another. His intelligence exceeds my own and, quite possibly, any other shinobi in this land. I'm surprised you don't trust your own boyfriend." Gaara smirked evilly. He loved teasing his sister; even without his demon, he still had a sinister side to him.

"What the hell did you say!?!" Temari jumped right back up and put her face within centimeters of Gaara's. "I hardly know that bastard! What makes you think that we are seeing each other?"

"I don't," Gaara dismissed, parting his eyes from Temari's. He didn't bother with the staredown; knowing her and himself, it could last hours. "I just don't understand why you take the issue so seriously. If I mention any other name, you just ignore it. However, this isn't the case with Shikamaru. Do you really still despise him for humiliating you at the Chuunin exams so long ago?"

"In case YOU don't remember," Temari snapped, undeterred, "I won that fight, and am now your second in command of our military! I can't say that he is ranked quite so highly. I also saved his ass when they went after their traitor. Not only that..." She was unable to complete her sentence when another Suna shinobi barged into the office through one of the open windows. Temari, startled, glared at the intruder. Gaara, however, just folded his hands in front of him and didn't even turn his head to face the intruder; he was used to this.

"And may I ask is the purpose of this... interruption?" Gaara's voice was eerily cool and collected.

"Our watchmen have spotted an entity coming from the northeast. It seems to be some sort of... toad or frog."

"Frog?" Temari asked, bewildered.

"Temari," Gaara, noticing Temari's confused look, addressed his sister, "did I mention that Uzumaki is with the group?" A pause. "And that Shikamaru does act intermittently as Tsunade's military advisor?"

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"We're in position." Neji told the rest of his team. They had retreated a small distance into the forest; the further away from the structure they were, the less dense the enemies would be. The forest also aided them considerably; Shizune and Neji were by no means capable of fighting more than a small handful of enemies at a time, and the forest cover reduced mobility and evasion, making Tenten's weapons more likely to hit their target. As long as the enemy didn't completely level the forest, the small group had the advantage.

"What is our strategy?" Tenten asked her teammates. Neji was quick to respond.

"I will attack first. I will not go for an immediate kill; I will first need to gauge the capabilities of our enemy. If they have powerful long-range attacks, we'll need to stay as a group and rely on Tenten for most of the fatal strikes while we eliminate any stragglers. If they do not, we can attack individual ones and reduce their numbers much more quickly."

"If you can help it," Shizune replied, "do not attack with your hands in either case. We'll last much longer if we use a weapon with a long reach; the less we come in contact with their chakra, the less we'll have to recuperate."

"I'm set," Tenten confirmed. He pulled a small scroll from her cloak, and unwound it on the forest floor. A puff of smoke, and there lay an ornate iron staff. In spite of her thin appearance, Tenten was a force to be reckoned with, and could handle such a heavy weapon with ease. "Shizune?"

"It's been a while since I've used this," Shizune chirped, taking off the backpack that she wore. She always cared the bag for carrying medical supplies. "Before I became a medic, I wanted to be a teacher. I figured this little trinket would be a teacher's best friend. Ah, here it is." She pulled out a scroll, similar in size to Tentens, and unrolled it. A puff of smoke appeared, and on the now flat scroll was the 'trinket' that she has mentioned.

"A... mace?" Neji stated. A black spiked ball, probably seven to ten kilograms in mass, was hanging from a heavy black chain. On the other end of the chain, in Shizune's hand, was an ornate wooden handle just long enough for Shizune to put both hands on it; of course, Shizune only required one. While Neji was emotionless, Tenten was shaking her head, grinning.

"I'm glad I never had to attend one of your lectures."

"Neji," Shizune addressed. "I'm aware that the Hyuuga clan frowns upon the use of any weapons in hand-to-hand combat, and that the clan's main family prohibits their use entirely. Yet, I am certain that using your Jyuuken style will make your chakra system more vulnerable to their energy."

"I'm aware of that, Shizune," Neji assured. "However, I'm perfectly capable of taking out an enemy with a single, powerful blow, and I'm also capable of dealing damage without coming in direct contact with the enemy. Also, unlike either of you, I can protect myself, at least in the short term, from more powerful techniques. Until we know for sure what exactly were up against, I have the best chances of surviving a prolonged fight, at least until the abilities of our opponents are determined."

"Agreed," Shizune nodded. "But don't take any unnecessary chances. Your village comes before your clan. Remember that."

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"Lee," Naruto addressed. The three members of their team – Lee, Naruto, and Ino – were in a tight formation with Naruto in the lead and the other two side-by-side, and were racing across the desert sands. "When we get there, I need you to gather as many people into one spot as possible."

"But Naruto," Ino argued, "they are far too strong to take on at once."

"Don't you remember Shizune's words?" Lee countered. "Naruto will surely show them the true power of youth!"

"Ino, Lee," Naruto explained. "Although what Shizune said is true, there are three main weaknesses. First of all, in ideal circumstances, it will take me about two minutes to get to that state, and I will be unable to move in the meantime. Having Lee round them up will also distract them from our position in the meantime. Secondly, once I'm actually in that state, I have a strictly limited supply of energy; once it's used up, I'll retreat. I'll need to do as much damage as possible in that time; that's why they need to be close together. Lastly, if I do take out many of them, I'm certain that I'm probably going to feel it afterwards, thanks to their chakra cloaks. You two will need to take over then."

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"Here's the plan," Shikamaru, kneeling on the ground, addressed his teams. Gai and Sakura, standing on either side of him, looked down onto the forest floor, where Shikamaru was drawing a diagram of their current position relative to the cone, including a wavy, but otherwise inartistic, line representing the border between the sands and the forest. "We are currently here..." he drew an 'X' below and to the right of the circle, well on the other side of the wavy line. He was never good at art. "...about three kilometers from the cone and about two kilometers from the forest's border. The closest enemies are here, about one kilometer from our current position and closing.

"Our mode of attack is to divide our section of the forest into several smaller areas." He drew several small points on the map. "Six points, each spaced apart about four hundred meters apart. Since we are taking on one-hundred twenty-five enemies, that would make for twenty-one enemies per point. Sakura, Gai, honestly, how many of these enemies do you think each one of you will be able to take before tiring out?"

"Probably between six and eight," Sakura stated, "assuming that each is a low B-rank threat."

"I can take on an average of fifteen-point-six B-ranks at a time," Gai bragged.

"You keep track?" Sakura asked.

"How else can I tell if I have surpassed by eternal rival?" Gai returned smugly.

"And how is his record?"

"Well, um..." Gai's voice trailed off; he was defeated. "He never told me! Of course; my eternal rival is far too hip to simply tell someone of his abilities!"

"It doesn't matter." Shikamaru stood up, causing the other two to focus on him. "Sakura, you start at the forest's border and work your way in. Gai, I'll set you in position. Fight your opponents, and defeat them as swiftly as possible. Sakura, when you dispatch your first enemy, look for one in the south; Gai, you work northward. Sakura, after you defeat three enemies, retreat to the south, but make sure all others that you spot find you and follow you. Gai, you defeat seven enemies, then retreat to the north. I will be waiting at the location where your groups will converge with a trap ready. Once we get them inside of the trap, I call for you to retreat, which you must do as quickly as possible. I'll then spring the trap, which will trap them in several explosive tags, then we'll move on to the next area. Every other area, we'll refuel on soldier pills." A yawn. "Make sure, at each area, you only defeat your quota, but no less. I created enough explosive tags to rig eighteen of them at each point; that will be enough to destroy a dozen of them cleanly, even if only a third of them actually attach to their targets."

"When did you make so many tags?" Sakura asked.

"Last night," Shikamaru replied. "Looking through the documents that Konohamaru retrieved, I concluded that whoever ran that thing had a strong military force used solely for preventing workers, and therefore information, out. Judging by the nature of the work there, I also assumed that he was impulsive and preferred absolution; the only way, by any logic, to guarantee a military victory with available forces is to use them all at their greatest power. There is one thing that caught me by surprise, though."

"And what's that?" Gai interjected.

"Naruto. When he mentioned to me the details of the illness that he had, I had an eerie suspicion that it had something to do with that building. However, I didn't expect that it was directly related to the Temperance Generator; when its control mechanism was shut down, Naruto's energy completely returned. The Generator, from what I gathered, controls beings that contain a large amount of tainted chakra like the enemies that we are facing and suppresses their power. However, Naruto does not contain that chakra and has never come in contact with it; he should not have been influenced. There is likely another property, a side effect, that was causing his condition, but I do not have enough information to deduce a hypothesis."

"Don't worry about it," Sakura chirped. "When we complete this mission, we'll take a specimen and use it to gather more information from it. If we can find out and isolate whatever is causing those weird chakra, we might be able to find out what happened to Naruto. If we are lucky, we can also create an agent that can counter its effects."

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"How far do we have to go?"

A small group two men, one young boy, three women, and one canine companion, were running along the forest floor. None possessed hitai-ite, and their clothing gave the impression that their battle style relied rather little on stealth. In fact, none of them seemed to have anything in common other than their general proximity to each other.

"Ten kilometers and closing." The leader of the group, a young man that, by the sound of his voice, was in his lower twenties in age, called back to his group. "Hopefully, we'll be there in about forty minutes, given our current pace."

"I hope we're not too late," spoke one of the females the words soft-spoken and containing no small hint of worry.

"I'm sure we'll get there in plenty of time." Another female assured.

"You young'ns have a lotta energy," stated the other man of the group. Unlike the others, he was struggling to catch his breath. Either that, or he was a rather impressive actor. "Can't ya give an ol' man a break now an den?"

"What do you mean 'old man'!?!" shouted the last female. "I remember you going through a certain desert, doing backflips in the searing heat while the rest of us were baking in the sun! And now you're tired!?! Besides, the sooner we get there, the sooner I get to rip Diabolos a new one! Oooh!"

"Look," demanded the young boy of the group. While not as brimming with confidence like his leader, he managed to keep a calm demeanor. "We don't have much time. We have to hurry."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had this chapter written up quite a while ago, but sort of lost inspiration after a while, so I dropped off of the scene. You can thank user "Top" for convincing me to go with this story, although I'm significantly altering the plot from my original plans. I plan on incorporating a non-canon fight against Pain in this story, and I also plan on making this a cross-over with another universe. Before you ask, I'll make sure to keep the characters detailed enough so that you don't need to now the other series to enjoy this, and they'll play a relatively minor role.

And before you ask, the last conversation is from those characters I plan on implementing from the other series. They'll have a mostly supporting role, and will be introduced in the upcoming battle. And I purposely left out all physical descriptions. Don't want to give away too much, now!

Lastly, there is a slight alteration to the format from here on out. I am not using bold lettering anymore. All thoughts are in italics, as will be move names (although I will likely use their English translations for reasons of consistency. I don't feel like butchering the Japanese language for the sake of original moves and abilities.)


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